At far away United States of America, the governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, together with other leaders of the Ijaw Nation are raising fresh hopes for a fair deal for the ethnic nationality, with Diri promising to give Ijaws in The Diaspora all the needed support and encouragement towards the common good of the people.
While speaking at Houston, Texas shortly after being honoured by the Ijaws in the US, Diri made a fresh case for a review of Nigeria’s revenue formula in line with the practice of fiscal federalism.
He queried the existing practice where resource-endowed states in Nigeria, particularly in the Niger Delta, get a paltry 13 per cent as monthly allocation from their resources. Diri has always been in the forefront in the battle for true federalism.
From his days as key player in Ijaw National Congress, long before he became governor, Diri has always desired a fair deal for the Ijaws.
Last week, he mobilized some prominent Ijaw leaders, including the minister of state for petroleum, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, a former managing director of the NDDC, Chief Timi Alaibe, the chairman of Bayelsa State Council of Traditional Rulers and Ibenanaowei of Ekpetiama kingdom, King Bubaraye Dakolo and the wife of a former Nigerian president, Dame Patience Jonathan, to join the INC president, Prof. Benjamin Okaba for the US Ijaw convention.
Diri as well as Lokpobiri, Bubaraye and Jonathan’s wife were all honoured at the event, for their role in the Ijaw struggle. Speaking at the event, Diri faulted Nigeria’s sharing formula of proceeds accruing from natural resources. He said it was wrong for the country to share only oil and gas proceeds, while resources from other parts of the country were not shared as well.
Also honoured were the former Nigerian first lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, the Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri as well as renowned author and Ibenanaowei of Ekpetiama kingdom, King Bubaraye Dakolo.
While receiving the award, Diri appreciated the organisers for upholding the Ijaw tradition and culture even in the diaspora.
He urged them not to allow the fire of Ijaw nationalism that has been ignited to extinguish and ensure that the annual event was sustained while promising the support of his administration.
He said: “This annual convention offers an opportunity for Ijaws in the diaspora to continue to associate with themselves.
“I urge the INC in the Americas not to allow the Ijaw fire to be put out. My administration will support you to sustain the Ijaw culture and tradition here in the Americas.”
Diri also admonished the Ijaw ethnic nationality not to get tired of its leadership role in the Niger Delta while enlisting the support of other ethnic groups in the region.
“The leadership of the Niger Delta has been with the Ijaws over the years. Now it looks like we are getting tired. But we should not. We have to continue with our leadership role while galvansing support from our neighbours and brothers in the region.
“The Niger Delta is an area that should be better than it is if we were allowed to use our resources for our development. Since I arrived this country, what crossed my mind has been how Bayelsa would be if we practised true federalism whereby we get 100 per cent of our revenue from oil and gas and not 13 per cent as it is today. Maybe we would have had one small Houston in Yenagoa.”
Diri insisted that it was wrong to describe Bayelsa as insolvent and unable to exist without monthly federal allocation while its resources were being expropriated to Abuja and shared to other states in the country.
“You cannot take away the resources in my state and the internally generated revenue that would have accrued to us and expropriate it in the name of Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC). Every month end, the 36 states in the country gather in Abuja to share resources accruing from my state and they still come back to insult us that our state is insolvent.
“I have never seen anywhere in the world where the essence of the FAAC is to share revenue only from oil and gas. What about the revenue from other mineral resources like gold? Why are they not also shared? This is the naked truth.”
