Nigerian governors have expressed concern over the revenue
accruing to the states from the federation account.
The revenue, the governors say, do not reflect the “increase
in prices as well as production capacity of oil” in the country.
The governors, under the aegis of South-East/South-South
Governors Forum, therefore urged the federal government “to ensure improved
revenue allocation to the states to reflect the current realities to enable the
states meet the yearnings and expectations of their people.”
The governors’ position is contained in a communique they
issued after their meeting on Sunday in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
Seven governors and two deputy governors attended the
meeting.
Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State; Rochas Okorocha of Imo
State; Nyesom Wike of Rivers State; and Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa were among
the governors who attended the meeting.
Others are Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta; Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu;
and Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia.
Ivara Esu and Nkem Okeke, both deputy governors, represented
the governors of Cross River and Anambra states respectively.
The meeting, which was chaired by the Akwa Ibom Governor,
Udom Emmanuel, restated the demand previously made by the governors that the
federal government should hands off federal roads in the states for the state
government to take up the responsibility of their rehabilitation.
“Worried about the abysmal state of road infrastructure in
the zones, The forum proposed that the federal government relinquishes all
‘federal’ roads to states where such roads are located and facilitate
legislation that would ease concession of the roads,” the governors said in the
communique.
“In the interim, the forum appeals to the federal government
to intervene urgently to improve on the current state of some critical
infrastructural facilities located in the zone. Some of these facilities
include: The Port Harcourt International Airport; The Margaret Ekpo
International Airport, Calabar; The Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu,
Sam Mbakwe International Airport; and several other roads located in the zone.
“The forum noted the rather shoddy approach to
infrastructural development by some intervention agencies of the federal
government operating in the regions and appealed to the federal government to
urge these agencies to liaise with the respective state governments in the
identification and execution of infrastructural projects.
“The forum believes that this approach will ensure that the
projects carried out by the intervention agencies are in sync with the
developmental agenda of the respective states and will lead to better standards
of project execution,” the governors added.
The South-East/South-South Governors Forum is aimed at
forging an economic and political alliance between Nigeria’s South-south and
South-east regions.
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