There were no smiles or exchange of pleasantries last Thursday when Chief Kingsley Ikiere led leaders of the Ijaw Host Communities (HOSTCOM), including Godwin Ozugbo and others, to address the press. An issue which touched on the essence of the group was at stake – the sharing formula for the 13percent derivation fund accruing to the oil bearing communities through Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission.
Friends swiftly become foes when the issue of oil production and sharing of proceeds are discussed in the Niger Delta region. The ground for the latest wrangling was the Urhobo HOSTCOM’s threat to shut down oil and gas producing facilities in the state over alleged unfair deals meted on them by their Ijaw and Itsekiri neighbours on the DESOPADEC board.
The Urhobos were peeved by a number of issues, but mostly the removal of payment of the commission’s staff salaries from the first line charge list.
Ikiere and Itsekiri HOSTCOM leaders who support the move, beyond cautioning their counterparts against threatening the peace, said it was unholy that Urhobo constitute over 40percent of DESOPADEC’s workforce, even though they produce far less oil.
Added to that, according to statistics released by the Ijaw, was that the Urhobo had more top cadre staff, who gulp more of the commission’s thinning resources.
Niger Delta Report learnt that Itsekiri ethnic group produces 29percent of the state’s crude. They are closely followed by their Ijaw counterpart with 27percent while Urhobo, Isoko and Ndokwa produce 22, 14 and 8percent respectively.
“Is it reasonable to take funds from other Ethnic Nationalities to pay the over-bloated staff of the Urhobos without recourse to the principle of derivation and production quantum?’ the Ijaw HOSTCOM chief asked.
Checks by Niger Delta Report revealed the latest squabbling merely brings to the fore agitations and disaffection in the running of DESOPADEC over the years. The commission was established by former Governor James Onanefe Ibori at the twilight of his administration in 2007. Its structure is seen by other ethnic groups as unduly slanted in favour of the Urhobo ethnic nationality, from which the former governor hails.
Over the years, the administrative costs, centralized project costs and staff salaries were paid before the net is split among the various ethnic groups for projects and other developmental initiative. But recently, this system was abolished in favour of one that places the task of salary payment on the various groups’ finances.
“This (former) practice was unfair. If we are sharing the money on the basis of oil production, let those who have more staff use their money to pay the staff salaries for justice and equability. That was our sentiment until they decided to stop the first line charge from the budget. So now, every ethnic group pays its staff salary from what is due it and whatever is left is used for project execution,” a staff at the commission’s account department told our reporter.
Nevertheless, with over 1,600 staff, the new policy has put the Urhobo group at a disadvantage. Our findings revealed that the Managing Director, Chief William Makinde and other Urhobo commissioners are finding it difficult to keep afloat and execute development projects because of the heavy wage bill.
A five-year old data revealed that the Urhobos have Strength of 1,622 staff against, Itsekiri 884, Ijaw 444, Isoko 363, and Ndokwa 308. They also have more upper cadre staff from10 – 17 (140) against Itsekiri’s 66, Ijaw 22, Isoko 34, Ndokwa 35.
Before the threat by the Urhobo HOSTCOM, an Urhobo DESOPADEC commissioner had spoken vehemently against the new policy. He vowed to work with his colleagues to change the new order.
The Urhobo, as the largest ethnic group in the state, feels that they should enjoy the lion share in both projects and staffing. But their counterparts have responded icily to this suggestion, reminding them that the fund is not for population, housing of oil pipelines but actual production which translates to money for the state and DESOPADEC.
“We want to make it clear that the principle of derivation is not based on ethnicity, population, LG spread and non-oil productive assets or administrative as acclaimed by the Urhobo. The13% oil derivation is based on the number of existing oil well heads and the quantities of oil produced on daily, weekly, monthly and yearly bases.
“If 13% oil derivation is based on population, geographical land mass or spread, hosting of non-oil productive assets or administrative offices then Kaduna, Lagos and some other States would have been beneficiaries,” the Ijaw HOSTCOM retorted.
Nevertheless, beyond the displeasure over the employment, the allocation of three commissioners to the ethnic group in spite of their inferior production figure has been a subject of murmur among the other groups.
Although Governor Ifeanyi Okowa restructured the commission after assuming office, the feeling of angst, especially among the Ijaw and Itsekiri groups, persist. While retaining the allocation of more commissioners for the Urhobos, they also have more members in the new board and higher staff strength.
And this seething anger surface when Ikiere told newsmen that they want a structure that is both commensurate with staffing and board representation.
Still, the Urhobo are also challenging the production quantum allocated to it. They accused the two major oil producing groups in the state of duplicating their claims to oil wells. “The Ijaws and Itsekiris are jointly and separately claiming to own some oil wells in other to increase its (sic) production quantum”.
Although the Ijaw HOSTCOM chair describes the assertion as “laughable and smacks of deep-seated ignorance”, the production sharing issue has been a subject of intense debates, allegations and counter-claims.
