Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State has urged members of the incoming 10th National Assembly from the Niger Delta to vigorously agitate for an upward review of the 13% crude oil derivation formula to a minimum of 25%.
He gave the charge at the 108th session of the state Executive Council meeting on Wednesday at the Government House, Yenagoa.
Represented by his deputy, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, the governor expressed regret that the 13% oil derivation formula, which was subject to a periodic review, has remained stagnant since 2003.
He also called on the president-elect, Bola Tinubu, to fulfil his promises, especially on resource control for the sake of equity and fairness to the people of the Niger Delta, who were suffering the brunt of crude oil production in the country.
Diri called on Tinubu to improve on the derivation formula to at least 25% as a champion of resource control himself towards addressing inequalities inherent in the revenue allocation system.
“We use this opportunity to encourage our members in the National Assembly to agitate for the upward review of the 13% derivation formula which has remained stagnant for too long.
“Since 2003, the derivation formula has remained unchanged. We believe that the incoming administration of Senator Bola Tinubu, who is an advocate of resource control, when he gets on the saddles as president.
“The incoming President has to make an improvement on the current 13% derivation formula to make it a minimum of 25% for a start and a maximum of 80% before he leaves office,” he said.
