DERIVATION FUND: NIGER DELTA INSISTS ON 50 PER CENT Peeved over the proposed five per cent derivation fund to the Niger Delta and another five per cent intervention fund for the North at the ongoing national conference, spokesman of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Mr. Eric Omare, has said that the region would not concede anything less than 50 per cent. According to him, the proposed five per cent is an insult to a region that has sacrificed its resources for the unity of the nation. Omare also condemned the proposal by the consensus group at the conference to allocate five per cent to the North as a result of the Boko Haram insurgency, adding that it is provocative, unacceptable and an invitation to war. Contained in a statement signed by Omare and issued to the Saturday Tribune in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital, the IYC demanded that the proposed five per cent intervention fund for the North should be sourced from the area and not from the oil and gas produced by the Niger Delta regions. He further added that, “To increase derivation by five per cent and allocate five per cent to fund Boko Haram to kill more Nigerians, especially innocent children and women, is the worst decision that can be ever made. Omare stated that it wasglaring that Ijaw and Niger-Delta delegates to the National Conference have run out of steam to resist the arrogance of their northern counterparts. It, therefore, called on them to return home honourably, adding that rather than achieve something on behalf of the Niger-Delta, they have further endangered lives of the people from the region.
Posted on: Sat, 12 Jul 2014 08:56:05 +0000
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