Delta State received a lion share of N48 billion from the N462.7 billion Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) among the states of the federation in May, 2024, surpassing the takings of other oil producing states like Rivers with second largest allocation of N36.1 billion and Akwa Ibom with third largest share of N33.3 billion.
Details of the allocations for each state showed that Bayelsa State received the fourth highest allocation of N29.7 billion, followed by Lagos State with N28.7 billion, while Kano received the highest allocation in the North with a share of N14.8 billion.
The figures seen by The Trumpet also revealed that Ogun, Cross River, Ekiti, Osun, Ebonyi, Kwara and Plateau states got the lowest allocation of N6.7 billion, N6.9 billion, N7.4 billion, N7.5 billion, N7.6 billion, N7.6 billion and N7.8 billion respectively.
The South East states of Abia got N9.7 billion, Anambra received N11.7 billion, Enugu got NN8.9 billion, while Imo State received N10.8 billion.
In the South West, Ondo State received N11.6 billion, while Oyo got N11.7 billion just as Edo in the South-South got an allocation of N11.8 billion.
In the North Central, Nasarawa State got N8.1 billion, Benue State received N10.2 billion, Niger State got N9.3 billion, Kogi (N8.1 billion), while Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi and Jigawa received N8.3 billion, N10.5 billion, N9.2 billion and N10.5 billion respectively.
Other states in the North are Adamawa (N8.6 billion, Bauchi (N7.7 billion), Borno (N11.1 billion), Sokoto (N9.3 billion), Taraba (N9.3 billion) and Yobe (N8.2 billion).
Responding to the revenue accruing to Delta State from FAAC alone estimated at a whopping N576 billion yearly, a public affairs analyst and development enthusiast, Chief God’sPower Chehoke Obi, lamented that the development in Delta and other oil producing states, was not commensurate with the amounts received by the states.
“The case of Delta State is even more worrisome because although the state is host to major power plants in Ughelli in Ughelli North Local Government Area and Okpai in Ndokwa East Local Government Area, the state has been in perpetual darkness due to the failure of the state government to initiate power projects to provide stable electricity in the state.
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“Agreed the Governor Sheriff Oborevwori-led government is making some strides in construction and rehabilitation of roads across the state, a lot still needs to be done to initiate independent power projects to improve electricity supply across the state.
“The state government should go beyond establishing universities and schools to establish industries that will absorb the graduates being churned out of the tertiary institutions. A good way to achieve this is to embark on massive electrification and industrialization of the state since the Federal Government seemed to have abdicated its responsibility in the provision of stable power supply.”
He stressed that with Delta’s allocation, which is almost equivalent to the allocation of the entire South East states put together, the state government should have no excuse in vigorously providing basic infrastructure, stable electricity supply, healthcare facilities, schools and potable water, among other needs.
