| Demand how govs spend
13 per cent funds -Niger Delta lawmakers told
By CHRIS IKWUNZE, Port Harcourt
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
State Assemblies in the Niger Delta States have been urged
to demand from their governors how the 13 per cent allocation
from the Federation Account are being spent before asking
for more money from oil companies.
Mr Richard Gozney, British High Commissioner in Nigeria who
led an extended EU Troika on a visit to the Rivers State House
of Assembly, Monday, said that if the state legislators could
get the governors to account for how they spent the derivation
funds, it would motivate the foreign donor agencies, oil companies,
and even the Federal government to give more money to the
Niger Delta States.
He lambasted the governors of the region for their wasteful
spending of funds meant for the development of the region,
saying that they lacked the moral justification to cry for
more funds when they had not accounted for the ones they had
received.
"We are aware that allocations to the states had greatly
improved following the implementation of the 13 per cent derivation
formula. Unfortunately, there are no much projects on the
ground to show for this improvement. It is the duty of the
State Assemblies to get their governors account for the monies
receive. That is the only way to gain the confidence of donor
agencies, oil companies and others to give more money to the
states," Gozney said.
He said that donor agencies are skeptical of giving out money,
which cannot be accounted for, a veiled reference to the misappropriation
of funds by governors and other elected officials.
He said that the visit was part of EU’s on-going development
cooperation in Nigeria, where a first wave of projects are
focused on the Delta region in which obvious social problems
have occurred.
Affirming EU’s support of the economic reforms of the
Federal government, Gozney said that the delegation intends
to underline the importance of ensuring that EU’s efforts
in development cooperation in the Niger Delta are not disrupted.
He said the delegation would look into the operations of the
oil and gas, the multinationals activities, and the safety
of EU member states living and working in the Delta region.
Responding, the Deputy Speaker of the Rivers Assembly, Hon.
Tonye Harry commended the delegation for their interest in
the Niger Delta welfare. He urged them to have open mind in
their assessment of situation and to be fair in reporting
their findings.
Other members of the delegation are Messrs Aart Jan Verdegaal,
Yves Gaudeul, Leonidas Tezapsidis, Massimiliano Lagi and Martin
Shearman, Ambassadors f the Netherlands, France, European
Commission, Italy and Deputy British High Commissioner respectively.
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