The Nigerian Senate has considered and passed for second reading a bill to include Bauchi, Lagos, and Ogun states into the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
The bill sponsored by Senator Adeola Solomon (Lagos West) seeks to amend the Niger Delta Development Commission Act 2000 to include states that have attained the status of Oil Producing States with similar circumstances as those listed in the Act when it was passed.
According to the senator, the discovery of crude oil in Alkaleri Local Government in Bauchi state Badagary in Lagos, and Ipokia in Ogun the states are entitled to the 13 percent derivation that is due to oil-producing states according to the provision of Section 162 Sub-Section 2 of the Nigeria Constitution.
He further argued that the Bill makes provision for new states that have joined the league of oil-producing states in Nigeria and for states that might eventually discover oil in the future as opposed to the present position of the Act, which only covers oil-producing states within the Niger Delta region, adding that the same provisions of the law which accrue benefits to existing oil-producing states in Nigeria should be extended to new and future oil-producing states.
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Deputy Senate President Ovie Omo-Agege however disagreed saying being an oil-producing state does not guarantee the state a spot in the Niger Delta Development Commission which is a regional development body.
He said a distinction should be drawn between the NDDC and Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission (OMPADEC) and as a result, Lagos, Ogun, and Bauchi states do not qualify to be in the NDDC as they are not in the Niger Delta region.
Senators George Sekibo and Matthew Uhroghide echoed similar sentiments saying the states in question can share from the 13 percent derivation, as long as they produce oil, but adding them to the NDDC will make a mockery of the idea in creating it.
The Niger Delta region is made up of nine states- Cross River, Edo, Delta, Abia, Imo, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa-Ibom, and Ondo states.
(Editor- Oloyede Oworu)
