North misapplied N8.3 trillion accrued to the North from the Federation Account in 11 years, South South Gov misappropated N7 Trillion

The sum of N8.3 trillion accrued to the North from the Federation Account in 11 years, according to official documents, but the opposition and other critics have alleged that a great deal of the money was misapplied. On the other hand, Oil producing communities in six states of the federation have alleged that their state

governments either misappropriated or misapplied N7.282 trillion being the total value of 13 per cent derivation fund they (governments) collected for 13 years from the Federation Account, leaving the indigenes of the communities in hunger and abject poverty.

A Daily Trust say official documents from the Federation Accountants Allocation Committee (FAC) show that the money represented the total allocation that was given to the 19 northern states and 413 local governments between 1999 and 2010.

Opposition parties in some northern states allege that the projects on ground do not justify the amount of money received, adding that the human development index has continued to dwindle during the period, giving rise to worsening poverty situation with attendant social insecurity.

According to the 1999 Constitution, 26.72 percent and 20.60 percent of all the federally generated revenue shall be allocated to the 36 states and local government areas in the country.

The allocations include the13 percent derivation from mineral revenue, Value Added Tax (VAT), excess crude revenue, PP and royalties.

Based on the 2006 Census figures, the 19 states have a total population of 73.8 million, representing about 53.13 percent of the nation’s total population.

The records show that within the same period, the 19 states had received a total of N4 trillion out of the total sum of N10.7 trillion shared to the 36 states and FCT as statutory allocation.

Also, the 413 local government areas in the north during the period received a total of N4.2 trillion out of the total sum of N7.5 trillion shared to the entire 774 local governments across the country.

State by state allocation

The breakdown shows that Kano State, with a population of 9.4 million had received N761.7 bn; N333.1bn for its 44 LGs and N428.4 bn for the state government during the period.

Elombah.com also learnt that Katsina State with 5.8 million people got N564bn; N253.8 bn for its 34 LGs and N310 bn as state government allocation.

Kaduna State received N530.1bn for the period: N268.6bn for its 23 LGs and N261.5bn for the state; Borno got N503bn, N246.7bn for its 27 LGs and N256.3 bn for the state; Niger State got N487.2bn; N240.1 for its 25 LGs and N247.2 for the state; Benue State got N465.3bn, N233.5bn for its 23 LGs and N231.6 bn for the state.

Bauchi State received a total of N463.3bn, its 20 LGs getting N241.1bn and the state government got N222.1bn for the period. In the same order, Jigawa State got N475bn shared thus: N231.8bn for its 27 LGs and N243.2bn for the state; Adamawa State got N410.3bn, N213bn for its 21 LGs and N197.2bn for the state while Sokoto received N432.3bn, its 23 LGs getting N219.4bn and state government N212.9bn for the 11-year period .

For the same period, Kogi State got a total of N413bn, N200.3bn for the state government and N213.5bn for its 21 LGs. Others are Kebbi State, which got N209.8bn for its 21 LGs and N193.2bn, totalling N403.1bn; Kwara’s 16 LGs got N192.1bn and state N153.2bn, amounting N345.3bn; Nasarawa State got N301.6bn: N179.6bn for its 13 LGs and N122bn for the state; Plateau’s 17 LGs collected N207.9bn and the state N169.9bn, totalling N377.9bn.

Yobe state collected N364.9bn, N203bn for  its 17 LGs and N161.8bn for the state; Gombe got N299.1bn shared between its 11 LGs (N185.1) and state government (N113bn); Zamfara state got N359.8bn, N205.7bn for its 14 LGs and N1544bn for the state while Taraba received a total of N370.2 bn, its 16 LGs getting N204.1bn and N166bn for the state government.                 

Analysts believe that significant percentage of these trillions was spent by the various states governments on recurrent expenditure.

A story done by Daily Trust recently revealed that about 28 state governments have proposed to spend about N2.105 trillion of their 2013 total budget of N4.96 trillion on salaries, allowances and other perks of government workers, overheads as well as other components of recurrent expenditure. This is despite concerns over the swollen recurrent expenditures of governments at all levels to the detriment of development projects.

Govs misappropriated N7tr derivation fund – Oil communities

Oil producing communities in six states of the federation have alleged that their state governments either misappropriated or misapplied N7.282 trillion being the total value of 13 per cent derivation fund they (governments) collected for 13 years from the Federation Account, leaving the indigenes of the communities in hunger and abject poverty.
The communities made the allegation in a letter they wrote to the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI).
Elombah.com learnt that the letter was signed by William Igere representing Delta State, Macpherson Kurobo representing Bayelsa State, Harry Opaks representing Rivers State, Saviour James Okon representing Akwa Ibom State, Nomwen Uhunmwangho representing Edo State and Comrade Samuel Ebiwanno representing Ondo State.
They urged NEITI to intervene in what they called illegal and unconstitutional payment of 13 per cent derivation into state government account.
In their letter to NEITI, the communities restated the legal position that 13 per cent derivation fund is not part of consolidated revenue of any tier of government or part of state, local government joint account.
They reiterated that the 13 per cent derivation fund is paid directly from the Federation Account as provided for in Section 162 (2) of the 1999 Constitution.
“The illegal and unconstitutional payment of 13 per cent derivation fund through the state governments have left the actual oil and gas producing communities in abject poverty.
“The state governments which received this money illegally use the fund to develop their state capitals and non-oil and gas producing communities, leaving the actual oil and gas producing communities in hunger and penury.
“This situation has caused monumental fraud against the oil and gas producing communities.
“The oil and gas communities therefore appeal to NEITI to intervene and prevail on the RMAFC to respect the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, stop this illegal and unconstitutional payment of 13 per cent derivation fund into any state government account, comply with the principle of fiscal responsibility, transparency, accountability and pay the 13 per cent derivation fund directly to oil and gas communities through a National Derivation Board,” they said.
The communities also appealed to NEITI that while carrying out the financial audit on the 13 per cent derivation fund, they should visit the oil and gas communities to undertake physical audit and see the degree of poverty, lack of infrastructure, lack of means of livelihood, level of devastation, environmental degradation, pollution and health hazard.
Only last week, the Federal Government directed NEITI to begin the audit of the 13 per cent derivation revenue accruing from the extractive sector to all natural resource producing states in the country with a view to determining how the disbursements have been utilised by natural resource producing states.

What the opposition says

A member of the Kaduna state House of Assembly Mallam Mohammad Ali, of the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, said the amount received by the successive administration in the state was enough to turn around the state but that the government mismanaged the funds.

“The money was not used to better the lots of the people of the state; rather it was shared to some selected few. This is not peculiar to Kaduna alone but to the whole country,” Ali said.

In Bauchi State, the opposition also cried foul.  In their separate reactions, Hajiya Sa’adatu Mahmuda state chairperson of the DPP, Alhaji Aliyu Sa’idu caretaker committee chairman of CPC and Alhaji Nasiru Ibrahim Darazo, spokesman of the ACN accused governors of hijacking local government grants and refusing to channel the resources meant for the state to eradicate poverty and to address the problems of water scarcity both within urban and rural areas.

Former Kano State All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) legal adviser and presently a chieftain of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the state, Dr. Baffa Babba Dan-Agundi, alleged that the spending of northern governments and especially that of Kano in the last 11years did not justify the amount of money received within the period.

Also speaking on the matter, rights campaigner and President of Civic Rights Congress (CRC), Malam Shehu Sani, alleged that half of the trillions received by the northern state governments only ended up in the pockets of the governors, their family members and herds of cronies.

Attempt to get reaction from the chairman of the northern governors’ forum, Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, was not successful but some former northern governors who spoke to Daily Trust denied that their regimes, in particular, had failed to justify the amount which they received while in office.