There comes a time in the history of a nation when silence becomes complicity, when injustice is no longer masked by bureaucracy, and when the cries of the oppressed must pierce through the fog of political deceit. That time, for Nigeria, is now.
The 13% derivation principle, enshrined in Section 162(2) of the 1999 Constitution, was never meant to be another political tool for state governors. It was created as a constitutional promise of justice and restitution a sacred acknowledgment of the environmental devastation, economic displacement, and social decay endured by the oil-producing communities of the Niger Delta. It was designed to heal wounds, rebuild livelihoods, and return dignity to the people whose ancestral lands produce the lifeblood of the Nigerian economy.
Yet, more than two decades later, that noble intention has been brutally betrayed. The 13% derivation fund, a constitutional right, has been hijacked by state governments who treat it as a slush fund for political patronage, not a development instrument for the suffering oil-bearing communities. This is not just administrative mismanagement — it is a moral crime, a direct assault on justice, and a perversion of constitutional integrity.
Let it be clearly stated: the 13% derivation fund is not a privilege; it is a debt owed to the people. It was never intended for the treasuries of state governors who have, time and again, demonstrated alarming levels of insensitivity, opacity, and corruption. The communities of Gbaramatu, Eket, Ogulagha, Nembe, Bonny, and Oloibiri — the real owners of the oil wealth — continue to live in misery, surrounded by oil wealth yet strangled by poverty. Their rivers are polluted, their lands infertile, and their youths jobless, while billions of naira in derivation funds vanish into the shadows of government houses.
Section 162(2) of the Constitution could not be clearer: “The principle of derivation shall be constantly reflected in any approved formula for revenue allocation.” The framers of this law intended a direct impact on the people and environment from which these resources are extracted. To divert these funds to state governments, who in turn mismanage them, is to violate both the spirit and letter of the Constitution.
The result is visible everywhere — massive underdevelopment amid abundance, a region reduced to ruins despite being the economic backbone of the nation. There are no functional hospitals, no standard schools, no safe drinking water, and no clean environment. What we have instead are lavish state capitals and political white-elephant projects, while the host communities that fuel the national economy are left to rot.
This betrayal calls for urgent national correction. The Federal Government, under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, must not allow this constitutional injustice to persist. The Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), in collaboration with the National Assembly, must restructure the implementation of the derivation fund to ensure it reaches its true beneficiaries — the oil-producing communities themselves.
We propose the immediate creation of a 13% Derivation Management Board, to be managed transparently under the supervision of a Presidential Monitoring Team, to directly channel the funds to host communities. This structure should be guided by law, accountability, and community participation — not political control. Anything short of this would be tantamount to a continuation of economic sabotage against the Niger Delta people.
It must be emphasized that those who bear the environmental scars of oil production must reap the benefits of its proceeds. They did not authorize the Federal Government to pay their compensation into the hands of state governors. They did not consent to poverty amidst plenty. And they will no longer tolerate the looting of their constitutional entitlements.
The time for reform is now. The time for justice is overdue.
Let Nigeria return the 13% derivation fund to its rightful owners — the oil-producing communities whose sacrifices have sustained the nation for over half a century.
Anything less is a continued act of betrayal, a perpetuation of injustice, and a stain on the conscience of the Republic.
The 13% belongs to the people — not the governors.
Let the law fulfill its purpose. Let justice flow like the oil beneath their soil.
