No fewer than nine House of Representatives members from the oil-rich Niger Delta region are pushing for an increase from 13 percent to 50 percent of the derivation fund.

Already, a bill aimed at achieving the objective, which has scaled the first reading stage, has been scheduled for deliberation on the floor of the House Tuesday next week.

The proposed legislation seems to alter paragraph Section 162 (2) of the Constitution by deleting the existing paragraph and inserting a new paragraph 2, which would read thus: ?Provided that the principle of derivation shall be constantly reflected in any approved formula as being not less than 50 percent of the revenue accruing to the federation account directly from all natural resources and value-added tax (VAT).?

Sponsors of the proposed legislation argue that the initiative is aimed at ensuring the development of the thirty-six states of the Federation where mineral resources are being extracted.

Ahead of the debate, the lead sponsor of the proposed legislation, Mr. Iwaji-Inombek Abiante, argued that every state in Nigeria stands to benefit immensely if the bill scales through the legislative hurdle.

Abiante, who represents the Andoni/Opobo/Nkoro federal constituency of Rivers State, added that the initiative is in response to the clamour of the present administration to right the wrongs of previous regimes and ensure true federalism in the polity.

Stating that the 13% derivation as presently provided for by the Constitution encourages illegal exploitation and mining of our natural resources, he assured that the spate of oil theft, illegal mining, and environmental pollution prevalent in the country would be curtailed if the bill is passed into law.

He stated that the deployment of enough funds means more development in terms of social, economic, and security infrastructures, adding that the various state governments? ability to build industries will keep the restive youths engaged and away from crimes, especially from the illegal mining and exploitation of natural resources.

?Let us indeed renew the hope not only of our founding fathers but also that of generations after us by the unanimous endorsement to quickly review and amend the formula to not less than fifty percent (50%) according to the Independence Constitution of 1960 and the Republican Constitution of 1963 in Sections 134 (1) (a & b) and 140 (1) (a & b),? he noted.

?It is noteworthy to add that including all revenues from VAT in this sharing arrangement will enhance competition among the states for increased productivity by making their environment friendlier for investment in order to increase their revenue. This is in tandem with the spirit of equity and justice.

?Notably, there has been the discovery of one billion barrels of crude oil and gas in the North-Eastern part of the country along the Chad Basin in neighbouring Bauchi and Gombe states; there are gold fields in Zamfara, Niger, Osun, Kwara, Ebonyi, Kaduna, Edo, and Bauchi states, and also the FCT; tin mining in Plateau and Nasarawa states; and gemstones mining (including sapphire, ruby, aquamarine, emerald, tourmaline, topaz, garnet, amethyst, zircon, and feldspar which are among the world?s best) in Plateau, Kaduna, and Bauchi states.

?Over 40 million tonnes of deposits of talc have been identified in Niger, Osun, Kogi, Ogun, Kano, and Kaduna states; and Lagos State has also become oil-producing by recent reports. There are also very huge deposits of bitumen, about 42 billion tonnes in Ogun, Lagos, Edo, and Ondo states; coal in Enugu, Benue, Nasarawa, Zamfara, Ondo, and Plateau states; zinc in Akwa Ibom, Abia, Benue, Anambra, Kano, and Taraba states; kaolin in Delta, Adamawa, Borno, Katsina, Ekiti, Kaduna, Kogi, Sokoto, Ogun, and Plateau states, and the FCT.? (The Guardian)

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