Wike wants FG to pay 13 per cent derivation from $1b insurgency fund

The Federal Government has been admonished to pay oil producing states their 13 per cent derivation out of the $1 billion withdrawn from the Excess Crude Account to fight insurgency.

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, made the call on behalf of the oil producing states in the country, in Port Harcourt yesterday while receiving the Leadership Newspaper Governor of the Year Award 2017 from the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Ikuinyi-Owaji Ibani, who represented him at the  event last week in Abuja.

Wike reiterated that while Rivers State was not opposed to the fight against insurgency in the North East of the country, he insisted that it was mandatory for the constitutional procedure to be followed.

The governor explained that he has been officially approached to lobby the Rivers State House of Assembly to approve the resolution mandating the withdrawal of the contentious $1 billion funds. According to him, the state government wants all required constitutional procedures for the release of money from the excess crude account to be duly respected.

“They have approached us to lobby for the passage of a resolution by the State House of Assembly approving the $1billion withdrawn from the Excess Crude Account to fight insurgency.  The law is clear. Every proceed from oil , you must remove 13 per cent derivation for oil producing states. ‘’