A bill to include Anambra State in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has been rejected by the Nigerian Senate on Wednesday.
The bill, sponsored by Senator Tony Nwoye, representing the Anambra North district, was presented on Wednesday but failed to pass the second reading, facing strong opposition from a majority of senators.
Currently, the NDDC primarily focuses on the development of the nine established oil-producing states: Abia and Imo (South-east), Ondo (South-west), and Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, and Rivers (South-south).
Senator Nwoye argued that Anambra, having recently begun collecting 13% derivation due to oil production, deserved membership in the NDDC and cited the state’s proximity to the Niger Delta region.
“Mr President and distinguished colleagues, Anambra, as an oil producing state has been collecting 13 per cent derivation from oil exploited from her wells by the federal government since 2021, and eminently deserves to be included in the operational radius of NDDC,” Nwoye said.
“Kogi State was also declared as an oil producing state but has not been collecting any 13 per cent derivation.”
However, the majority of senators who contributed to the bill kicked against it on the grounds that the move is political and that some oil-producing states are also not recognised as members of the NDDC.
Senator Jibrin Isah, representing Kogi East noted that other oil-producing states, like Kogi, are not included in the NDDC.
Isah stated that the NDDC’s primary function is regional intervention, not solely serving oil-producing states.
“Senator Nwoye, with all due respect, please stop dragging Kogi State into your argument for membership of Anambra State in NDDC. Kogi State is an oil producing State and has also been collecting 13 per cent derivation since October 2022,” Isah said.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio said if membership of Anambra in the NDDC is to be accepted, then Lagos, which has two oil wells in Badagry, will also clamour for membership in the commission.
Akpabio stated that the National Boundary Commission would decide whether Anambra is close to the Niger Delta area before the lawmakers decided on it.
Following the debate, the Senate President put the bill to a vote, and the “nays” (those opposed) outnumbered the “ayes” (those in favour), leading to the rejection of the bill.
