24 hours prior to Senator Isah’s proposal, he and Senator Tony Nwoye engaged in a contentious dispute concerning the satus of Kogi state as an oil-producing state receiving 13% of its revenue.
The Senate has affirmed Kogi State as an oil producing state receiving 13% derivation as stipulated for by section 162(2) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
Affirmation of Kogi as an oil producing state receiving 13% derivation by the Senate was sequel to a motion sponsored to that effect by Senator Jibrin Isah (APC, Kogi East) during Thursday’s plenary.
Senator Isah’s motion came 24 hours after a heated debate between him and Senator Tony Nwoye (LP, Anambra North) on the status of Kogi as an oil producing state that receives the 13% derivation .
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Earlier in his presentation at the plenary on Wednesday, Nwoye proposed a bill aimed at adding Anambra State to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
Isah had however argued that Kogi State is not receiving 13% derivation like Anambra State, countering him that Kogi State has been a receiver of the 13% derivation since October 2022.
Coming under Order 42 of the Senate Standing Rules, Isah moved a motion to affirm Kogi as an oil-producing state that benefits from the 13% derivation at the start of Thursday’s plenary.
The singular prayer of Senator Isah’s motion was to urge the Senate to take the clarification that Kogi State is an oil producing state which has been receiving the constitutional 13% derivation since October 2022; and accord it the necessary recognition as an oil-producing state”.
Senator Isah prior to adoption of the prayer by the Senate submitted thus: “The Senate notes that oil has been the mainstay of the Nigerian economy right from 1956 when it was discovered in commercial quantity at Oloibiri in the present Bayelsa State.
“After the discovery of crude oil in commercial quantities in Oloibiri, other discoveries were made in other parts of the country, including the present Abia, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Ondo, and Imo States.
“Oil was later discovered in commercial quantities in Odeke, Echeno, Ihile, Anocha/Uchuchu, Omabo, Ikah, Iregwu and Ujeh all in Ibaji community of the present-day Ibaji Local Government Area of Kogi State.
“After due assessments and consultations, the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR, officially listed Kogi State as an oil producing state in 2021.
“The peculiarities of the oil producing States, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, under section 162(2), directs the constant reflection of the principle of derivation of not less than 13% in any approved revenue allocation formula.
“Recall that in a debate on a Bill to amend the Niger Delta Development Commission (Establishment, etc.) Act No.86 LFN 2004 (SB 271) before this distinguished Senate on Wednesday, 28th February 2024, the sponsor of the Bill, Senator Tony Nwoye, stated that Kogi State is yet to start receiving the constitutional 13% derivation as an oil-producing state.
“Upon the official recognition by the RMAFC in 2021, the Kogi State Government officially received the first 13% derivation in October 2022 and has continued to receive it till date.
“The receipt of the first 13% was officially acknowledged by the Kogi State Government in a state broadcast on Wednesday, October 19, 2022, which was widely published in national dailies which reported Kogi State as the first northern oil-producing state to get 13% derivation. Copies of those publications are attached for ease of reference.”
STAR Check: Nigerians, particularly, constituents of Kogi East district, can keep tabs on the legislative performance of Sen. Isah throughout the 10th senate here.
