Oil Price: Southern governors ask for increased revenue allocation to states

Nigerian governors have expressed concern over the revenue accruing to the states from the federation account.

The revenue, the governors say, do not reflect the “increase in prices as well as production capacity of oil” in the country.

The governors, under the aegis of South-East/South-South Governors Forum, therefore urged the federal government “to ensure improved revenue allocation to the states to reflect the current realities to enable the states meet the yearnings and expectations of their people.”

The governors’ position is contained in a communique they issued after their meeting on Sunday in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

Seven governors and two deputy governors attended the meeting.

Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State; Rochas Okorocha of Imo State; Nyesom Wike of Rivers State; and Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa were among the governors who attended the meeting.

Others are Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta; Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu; and Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia.
Ivara Esu and Nkem Okeke, both deputy governors, represented the governors of Cross River and Anambra states respectively.

The meeting, which was chaired by the Akwa Ibom Governor, Udom Emmanuel, restated the demand previously made by the governors that the federal government should hands off federal roads in the states for the state government to take up the responsibility of their rehabilitation.

“Worried about the abysmal state of road infrastructure in the zones, The forum proposed that the federal government relinquishes all ‘federal’ roads to states where such roads are located and facilitate legislation that would ease concession of the roads,” the governors said in the communique.

“In the interim, the forum appeals to the federal government to intervene urgently to improve on the current state of some critical infrastructural facilities located in the zone. Some of these facilities include: The Port Harcourt International Airport; The Margaret Ekpo International Airport, Calabar; The Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, Sam Mbakwe International Airport; and several other roads located in the zone.

“The forum noted the rather shoddy approach to infrastructural development by some intervention agencies of the federal government operating in the regions and appealed to the federal government to urge these agencies to liaise with the respective state governments in the identification and execution of infrastructural projects.

“The forum believes that this approach will ensure that the projects carried out by the intervention agencies are in sync with the developmental agenda of the respective states and will lead to better standards of project execution,” the governors added.

The South-East/South-South Governors Forum is aimed at forging an economic and political alliance between Nigeria’s South-south and South-east regions.