A bill seeking to amend the 1999 Constitution to allow for an increase in the 13% derivation fund to 50% has been introduced in the House of Representatives.
The bill seeking a 50% derivation fund to the oil producing communities is among bills received by the House of Representatives as part of the ongoing constitutional review.
When passed, the bill will enable oil producing states earn 50 percent as against the current 13 percent derivatiion.
The Bill which was sponsored by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Caucus Leader, Rep Kingsley Chinda is expected to go through the rigours of the constitution amendment review committee headed by Deputy Speaker, Idris Wase.
The 13% Derivation is the fund set aside to assist oil-producing communities to tackle infrastructural decay and degradation.
Meanwhile, there have been agitations that the funds are not getting to the right channels. The 13 per cent derivation fund has been a subject of controversy between the oil-producing communities and their various states government, with the former asking the Federal Government to pay the money directly to the communities and not into the coffers of the state.
This is also coming days after President Muhammdu Buhari had signed the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) now known as the Petroleum Industry Act(PIA) into law.
