Farah Dagogo, a former federal lawmaker and 2023 governorship aspirant under the Peoples Democratic Party, has expressed serious concerns about how the 13 percent derivation funds are being managed by the governors of the nine Niger Delta states. These funds are intended for the development of oil-producing communities in the region.
In a statement issued in Port Harcourt, Dagogo criticized the governors for failing to use the funds effectively, despite the region receiving trillions of naira over the past 23 years. He noted that more than N600 billion of this amount was received in the first half of 2024 alone.
Dagogo said, “Despite the Federal Government’s apparent failures, it has not failed to ensure a steady increase in the 13 percent derivation funds allocated to the Niger Delta governors.” He provided a breakdown of the funds released in 2024: “In January, N57.92 billion was released to oil-producing states. In February, it rose to N85.10 billion, and in March, the amount reached N166.24 billion. The sums were N90.12 billion, N120.45 billion, and N106.50 billion for April, May, and June, respectively.”
Dagogo lamented the ineffective use of these funds, leading to a “subconscious apathy” among the people toward the amounts being released. He criticized the governors for treating the funds as “free monies” rather than using them to address infrastructural decay and degradation in oil-producing communities.
He further questioned the indifference of the governors, stating, “Why are the Governors, who receive these funds on behalf of these communities, so indifferent to their plight? They have established a pattern of filling their pockets with funds and continuing to live large rather than committing them to the development of the communities.”
Dagogo emphasized the need for a thorough investigation into the allocation and utilization of the derivation funds. He said, “We need an explanation, with irrefutable facts, on how the derivation funds intended to better the lives of the people and their oil-producing communities have been expended.”
Concluding his statement, Dagogo expressed skepticism about the potential for change but remained hopeful. He said, “I want to strongly believe that it is never too late to correct the wrongs of the past. I also want to have a positive conviction that this set of governors will side with the right side of history and do justice to the revenues they are getting on behalf of the oil-producing communities.”
