Stalemate on Resource Control as North demands scrapping of NDDC, others

Stalemate on Resource Control as North demands scrapping of NDDC, others

Posted by Sylvester on Wednesday, April 30, 2014 0

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Northern, Southern delegates meeting on resource control stalemated again

After about two hours of meeting behind closed-doors, members of the National Conference Committee on Devolution of Powers again on Tuesday failed to agree on the issue of ownership and control of mines and minerals in Nigeria.

This disagreement, which clearly was along the line of north and south, both of who took contrary positions on the issue, forced the Committee to adjourn discussions on the matter till Wednesday, the second time this week. It had been stepped down twice last week.

The control of mines and minerals, including of fields and natural gas is listed as item 39 on the Exclusive Legislative List in the 1999 Constitution.

While southern members of the 28-member committee, co-chaired by a former governor of Akwa Ibom State and a former Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Coomassie, demanded that the matter be put on the Concurrent List to enable states in which resources are found have a say in the exploitation and exploration, their northern counterparts fiercely opposed the suggestion.

The delegates who could not agree during the morning session returned from their break at 4 p.m. and asked journalists to leave the hall apparently to enable them continue discussion on the matter.

However, after about two hours, most of the delegates emerged from the meeting angry and spitting fire.

A delegate from Yobe State, Buba Galadima, told anxious journalists that there was no agreement on the matter. He insisted that there was no way the north would agree to move the item to the Concurrent List because all mineral resources in the country belong to the federal government.

Also speaking, a North-West delegate, Junaid Mohammed, said it was impossible to reach a consensus on the matter, stating that the continued discussion on the matter would amount to a waste of efforts.

A former Deputy Senate President, Ibrahim Mantu, from Plateau State said, “We are still discussing the issue and everybody is giving it adequate attention. We have asked people to go and ensure that they put on their thinking cap and come back tomorrow (today) to be able to reach a consensus”.

“We are going to put the interest of the nation first and foremost, no matter views anybody holds, pure reason will take center stage tomorrow morning”, he said

Two southern delegates from the oil-rich Niger Delta region, Nsongurua Udombana (Akwa Ibom) and Godini Darah (Delta), also confirmed the stalemate at the meeting and insisted that the issue be moved to the Concurrent List.

Niyi Akintola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria from Oyo State said there was serious argument on it, but when it was obvious that there was no way forward, Mr. Attah adjourned the sitting to allow delegates reflect more on the matter.

According to him, the delegates had an initial agreement to allow for the 50 per cent derivation, but some delegates came up with a different argument thereby stalling the sitting.

Also speaking, an elder statesman from Ogun State, Ayo Adebanjo, said, “We don’t want the country to break, everybody agreed that we will do our best not to break but nobody should come here with the attitude that except mine”.

“Many people have bent over to see how we can come to a compromise but there are some few with an attitude that itself I or not. Well. We will do our best to accommodate the extremists, but if it is not, nobody has monopoly of insistence”, he added

However, Mr. Attah told journalists that the Committee would take decision on the matter on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the northern delegates on Tuesday caused unease at the National Conference by calling for the abolition of all intervention institutions and agencies in the Niger Delta region.

Such intervention bodies include the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs created by late President Umaru Yar’Adua and the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, created by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Others include the Amnesty Programme for ex-militants, the C component of the SURE-P programme, and the suspension of derivation fund to oil producing states.

They also rejected any move to change the provisions of the 1999 Constitution regarding the ownership and control of mineral resources in the country.

The position of the North was contained in a document titled, “Key Issues before Northern Delegates to the 2014 National Conference.”