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Removing 13% Derivation ‘ll Trigger Crisis, Ijaw Warns Northern Lawmakers
Published
4 years agoon
By
Editor
Prof Benjamin Okaba, National President, Ijaw National Congress, INC, has warned that the proposed Bill to delete Section 162, sub section 2 of the 1999 Constitution, which deals with derivation principle by 59 northern Members of House of Representatives, was an invitation to chaos.
The INC President in a statement urged the sponsors “to allow the sleeping dog lie, adding that “The leadership of the pan-Ijaw group, the Ijaw National Congress (worldwide) has received with utter consternation and disbelief a story circulating in the social media, of a purported bill sponsored by 59 members of the House of Representatives, who are of northern extraction with an intent to delete section 162 sub section 2 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
“The section under reference which has to do with the management of the Federation Account, particularly subsection 2 states inter alia:
“The President upon the receipt of advice from the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission, shall table before the National Assembly proposals for revenue allocation from the Federation Account, and in determining the formula, the National Assembly shall take into account, the allocation principles especially those of population, equality of states, internal revenue generation, land mass, terrain as well as population density;
‘Provided that the principle of derivation shall be constantly reflected in any approved formula as being not less than thirteen per cent of the revenue accruing to the Federation Account from any natural resources.’
“What could have been the motivation for these 59 northern lawmakers to contemplate sponsoring this obnoxious bill other than the fact that it provides for derivation principle… as being not less than 13 per cent?
” It is unfortunate that some honourable men of our Green Chamber are taking delight in fanning the embers of chaos, national disintegration and the total collapse of the Nigerian state.
“We are not sure if these persons have measured in any manner the eventual consequences of their intended action on both the economic and political space of Nigeria.
“We can assure these apostles of discord and chaos that in this their planned voodoo game, the oil-producing Ijaw nation and other oil-producing and resource-endowed ethnic nationalities in the Niger Delta region shall laugh last.
“We challenge them to stop at nothing to ensure that the section 162 subsection 2 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) is deleted without hesitation.
“It is unfortunate that as lawmakers representing various constituencies from the northern regions, rather than being conversant with political history and constitutional practice since independence, these lawmakers are embarking on a voyage which pathway is too thorny for them to navigate.
“Have they forgotten so soon the provisions of the 1963 Republican Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on revenue sharing at a time the nation’s wealth depended mainly on groundnut pyramids, cotton, hide or skin, etc; the resources their forbears relied upon to build the northern economy?
” We wish to reproduce hereunder the provisions of section 139 of the 1963 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for purposes of clarity and unbiased elucidation.
‘139. (1) Where under any Act of Parliament duty is levied in respect of the export from Nigeria of produce, hides or skins there, shall be paid by the Federation to each Region in respect of each quarter a sum equal to the appropriate percentage of the proceeds of that duty for that quarter.
‘(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) of this section–
‘1.(a) the proceeds for a quarter of a duty levied on a commodity shall be the amount remaining from such of the receipts from that duty as relate to exports of that commodity during that quarter after any drawbacks, refunds or other repayments relating to those receipts have been made or allowed for;
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‘2.(b) the appropriate percentage of the proceeds for a quarter of a duty levied on a commodity shall, in relation to any Region, be whichever of the following percentages is prescribed by Parliament in that behalf, that is to say, either- (i) the percentage of those proceeds that is attributable to exports of that commodity that were derived from that Region; (ii) the percentage of those proceeds that is attributable to exports of that commodity that were purchased in that region.’
“The import of Section 139(1)and (2) is that 100 per cent of the proceeds from the produce, hide or skin were paid to the producing regions after allowable expenses.
“Similarly, section 140 of the 1963 Constitution provided for fifty per cent of the proceeds from mining royalties and rents to be paid to the producing regions . We reproduce the relevant subsections hereunder for elucidation.
‘140. (1) There shall be paid by the Federation to each Region a sum equal to fifty per cent of –
‘1.(a) the proceeds of any royalty received by the Federation in respect of any minerals extracted in that Region; and
‘2.(b) any mining rents derived by the Federation during that year from within that Region.
‘(2) The Federation shall credit to the Distributable Pool Account a sum equal to thirty per cent.
‘1.(a) the proceeds of any royalty received by the Federation in respect of minerals extracted in any Region; and
‘2.(b) any mining rents derived by the Federation from within any Region.
‘3.(3) For the purposes of this section the proceeds of a royalty shall be the amount remaining from the receipts of that royalty after any refunds or other repayments relating to those receipts have been deducted therefrom or allowed for.’
“From the foregoing, it amounts to a display of bigotry for anybody to challenge the allocation of a paltry 13 per cent for the derivation principle to mineral producing states.
“Whereas, the Nigerian state had at a time given a whopping 100 per cent of proceeds from exports to the producing regions and only 50 per cent to other mineral producing states, we have maintained our repeated demand for the progressive increase of derivation percentage at least to what our forebears had practised in the past.
“We have continued to condone this arbitrary allocation of 13 per cent to mineral producing states in the spirit of brotherhood and national interest over the years. Therefore, to attempt to insult our sensibilities by sponsoring such an obnoxious and insensate bill is to say the least an invitation to chaos.
“Let us state in very clear terms that the feeding bottle mentality that has continued to rein our states, in which creativity and resourcefulness have been abandoned on the expectation of FAAC day in Abuja must stop. “Before the sponsored Bill is passed into law, the Ijaw nation shall take steps to protect and defend our oil and gas resources.
“If we must live together as one, we must strive to do those things that unite us and shun the ones that divide us; . rather than needlessly stoking the fire of discord, which is what the purported bill being sponsored by the 59 Honourable members, is all about.
“The 59 ‘honourable’ northern brothers should allow sleeping dogs lie.” he said.
(VANGUARD)
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2 hours agoon
August 8, 2025By
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Hungry civilians are reportedly eating animal feed as women and girls face a “gender emergency” in war-torn Sudan, UN officials said on Thursday.
Particularly hard hit is El Fasher, where hunger is growing, with the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warning of a deteriorating situation that is putting even more civilians’ lives at risk.
UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq disclosed the alarming shortages of food in the war-torn country on Thursday at the UN Headquarters in New York.
“With increasingly alarming food shortages and spiralling prices, people in El Fasher are reported to be resorting to eating animal feed in what is an increasingly catastrophic situation,” Haq said.
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El Fasher has the highest cost of basic goods nationwide at nearly $1,000 per household per month, which is far beyond the reach of most families.
This includes more than $700 for food alone, more than eight times the cost of basic food items in other parts of the country, Haq said.
“These steep costs, coupled with the siege and lack of aid delivery by road for over a year, have left thousands facing starvation,” he added.
He noted that engagement around the calls from the Secretary-General and the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator for a pause in the area is “more important than ever”.
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Similarly, OCHA’s Director of Operations and Advocacy, Edem Wosornu, who is currently in the country, said the suffering was immense, with people trapped, displaced or returning to face communities in ruins.
She called for unimpeded access and urgent support to reach those on the frontlines of hardship.
Warnings also came from UN Women, the gender equality agency of the UN.
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“This crisis is a gender emergency,” Salvator Nkurunziza, the agency’s representative in Sudan, said.
“Displaced women and girls can be subject to the risks of exploitation and abuse, especially during the delivery of aid, where protection mechanisms are weak or absent in some locations.”
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A train derailed in the southern Iranian province of Kerman on Friday, injuring more than two dozen people though no deaths were reported, according to local media.
“Thirty people were injured when a train derailed on the Kerman-Zarand railway path,” Babak Mahmoudi, head of the Red Crescent Society’s Relief and Rescue Organisation, told the Mehr news agency.
A statement from the public relations office of the national railway body carried by the Tasnim news agency reported that after “the timely arrival of railway technical personnel and rescue forces, all passengers safely exited the train”.
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Authorities Order Evacuations In Los Angeles Zones As Wildfire Spreads
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2 hours agoon
August 8, 2025By
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A brush fire in a mountainous area north of Los Angeles triggered evacuations in two US counties, scorching nearly 5,000 acres (2,000 hectares), authorities said Friday.
At least 10 zones in Los Angeles and Ventura counties were under evacuation orders, with 2,700 residents displaced as of 11 pm (0600 GMT) Thursday, Ventura County Fire Department spokesperson Andrew Dowd told AFP.
At least 400 personnel have been deployed to contain the fire, according to Dowd.
The blaze erupted as firefighters battled a separate wildfire — California’s largest of the year so far — which raged for an eighth straight day and engulfed more than 99,000 acres in the Los Padres National Forest, threatening hundreds of homes.
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The latest fire has so far burned 4,856 acres and remains zero percent contained, Dowd said.
LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents the area, urged residents to heed evacuation guidelines.
“The #CanyonFire is spreading fast under extreme heat & dry conditions near Ventura–LA County line,” Barger wrote on X.
“If you’re in Santa Clarita, Hasley Canyon, or Val Verde, take evacuation orders seriously — when first responders say GO, leave immediately. Keep aware–please don’t risk lives.”
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The fires follow a July blaze that scorched more than 70,000 acres and needed hundreds of firefighters to contain it.
Fire authorities at the time noted that dry brush, sustained winds and high temperatures were fueling the flames.
That came after several earlier fires, stoking fears of a difficult season in a state still reeling from wildfires that killed 30 people in January.
Earlier this week, Zurich-based reinsurance giant Swiss Re said natural disasters caused $135 billion in economic losses globally in the first half of this year, fuelled by the Los Angeles wildfires.
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