2 December 2008
Lagos — The Technical Committee on the Niger Delta yesterday presented its report and called on the Federal Government to increase the oil and gas revenue allocation to the region from the present 13 per cent to 25 per cent.
Also, the committee asked for the open trial for the leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), Mr. Henry Okah.
The committee also recommended the establishment of Decommissioning, Disarmament and Rehabilitation (DDR) for the region within the next six months.
Briefing State House correspondents, after the submission of the three volume reports to the President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua the Chairman of the committee, Ledum Mitee said though some of the submissions made to it were asking for 50 per cent derivation, the committee settled for 25 per cent in line with present global economic crunch.
Mitee said that as part of the effort to bring peace to the region, Okah should be either trialed openly or granted bail.
Said he: "One of the things we thought because of the identified failure of political will, the committee decided to therefore box into what we call a compact, some issues which we think if you deal with, it will be able to show a demonstration of political will.
"We also thought there is need for an increment in the revenue allocation to the region. Samuel Ogbemudia committee had recommended 50 per cent increase, we have no reason to deregulate from that but we thought that in the face of the downward trend of oil we should start with 25 per cent.
He stressed the need to "remove arms from that region and therefore we thought there should be Disarmament Decommissioning and Rehabilitation Commission (DDR), which should try to create the enabling environment.
" We have raised issues that we think if carried on will create an enabling environment for that DDR process to work and that might involve a seize fire in the short term and creation of this DDR framework."
Though Mitee said he was not ready to give details of the report that was just submitted to the president, he however said "But one clear thing that this report has done is to give time frame. For example DDR, we came up with recommendation that within the next six months they should complete initial steps that will support a disarming process of youths involved in militancy.
"The process will have to begin with some confidence building measures on all sides. The measures will include the seize fire from both sides, pull back of forces, open trial and bail to Okah and credible conditions for people to do that. So we said very measurable things and all the recommendations came with the short, medium and long term and responsibility parties. We didn't throw things at the federal government alone, we threw things at the state government, at the local government, community and the oil companies and each came with a definite time frame.
'Some of those issues are very basic things like the daulisation of the East-West road. It is one of the things that have been flagged off as an answer to the Niger Delta problem. And we didn't just say do that, because we have found out that there was very little allocation of funds for even things that were flagged off, so throughout this year funding was not made available for that road.
"So you find a project that even some of the contractors say, at the rate of funding it will take the next 10 years for them to complete something that is basic. There has been loads of money owed the NDDC we say please those are debts that are legitimately owed.
"We also thought there should be at least 2000 jobs for each local government area in the region through what we call Youth Employment Scheme (YES).
Responding, President Yar'Adua thanked the committee for a job well done assuring them that the "report will be examined by the government and we will examine your recommendations and I have no doubt in my mind that your work will form one of those great efforts that will ultimately help this country to find a permanent solution to the problems in the Niger Delta. The government will study and implement those recommendations that government finds acceptable from your report.
"The problem of the Niger Delta is as strategic problem for this nation and I have said this, not once, not twice and I have expressed the determination of this administration to confront this problem headlong and ensure that we employ all means available to government to cope and partner with all stakeholders in an effort to solve this national problem, he said.
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