As pressure continues to mount among Nigerian youth demanding better conditions of living and liberation from hunger and economic hardship across the country, oil producing states are smiling to the banks with fat allocations from the Federal Account and Allocation Committee (FAAC), which shared N4.324 trillion to the states in June.
Details of the June 2024 FAAC allocation per state for revenues received in May showed that Delta State (as usual) received the highest allocation of N43.7 billion, followed by Rivers with N32.5 billion, Akwa Ibom (30.6 billion), Lagos (N26.6 billion), while Bayelsa got N25.3 billion.
Of the South-South states, Cross River State received the lowest allocation of N6.5 billion, while Edo State got N11.1 billion, putting the South-South geopolitical zone ahead of other zones with a total allocation of N176.7 billion.
On regional basis, the figures also revealed that the five states of the South East geopolitical zone received the lowest allocation of N46.8 billion with Anambra State getting the highest share of N11.7 billion, followed by Imo with N9.7 billion, Abia (N9.3 billion), Enugu (N8.6 billion), while Ebonyi received N7.5 billion.
The South West geopolitical zone got the second highest allocation of N68.7 billion with Lagos receiving the largest chunk of N26.6 billion followed by Oyo (N11.1 billion), Ondo (N11.0 billion), Osun (7.2 billion), while Ekiti and Ogun states received the lowest allocation of N6.5 billion and N6.3 billion respectively.
Of the three geopolitical zones in the North, the North West, which has the highest number of states in the country, received N68.4 billion with Kano State getting the highest allocation of N14.4 billion. Others are Katsina (N10.2 billion), Jigawa (N10.1 billion), Kebbi (8.8 billion), Sokoto (N8.6 billion), while Kaduna and Zamfara states got the lowest share of N8.2 billion and N8.1 billion each.
The North East takings amounted to N49.7 billion with Borno State taking the highest amount of N10.6 billion, followed by Adamawa with N8.7 billion, Taraba (8.1 billion), Yobe (N7.8 billion), Bauchi (N7.5 billion), while Gombe received the lowest share in the region with N7.0 billion.
In the North Central, which received the lowest allocation in the North with N49.0 billion, Benue State received the highest share of N9.6 billion, followed by Niger (9.2 billion), Nasarawa (N7.9 billion), Kogi (N7.6 billion), while Plateau and Kwara states got N7.5 billion and N7.2 billion respectively.
Following the huge allocations accruing to the South-South states from the FAAC, some concerned indigenes of the region have raised issues of development gaps in the frontline states of Delta, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa.
They argued that besides the differences in internally generated revenue (IGR) of each state, Delta State’s monthly allocation (43.7 billion), which is almost equivalent to that of the five South East states put together at N46.8 billion, Delta State Government and indeed governments of the South-South region ought to be doing better in terms of infrastructure development and greater opportunities and better conditions of living for their people.
Specifically, a development enthusiast and project management expert, Chief Desmond Itefeha, urged the Delta State Government to utilize its huge monthly allocations in the provision of more value-added infrastructure and public utilities.
In his words: “It is regrettable that Delta State, which used to be a beehive of commercial activities with the presence of Shell and Chevron in Warri, Delta Steel Company (DSC) in Aladja, Seaports in Warri, Sapele and Koko, as well as the Delta Glass Company in Ughelli, among others, is now devoid of any commercial activities apart from schools and hotels in the urban areas.
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“Although most of the public companies have been sold to private investors, the state can actually build similar industries to provide job opportunities to the teeming youths, who graduate from tertiary institutions in the droves yearly. It can also create industrial hubs in each of the 25 local government areas to boost economic activities and return the state to greater prosperity for all.
“It is also worrisome that in spite of the huge allocations, Delta State is still plunged into gross darkness due to the failure of the Federal and state governments to provide stable power supply.
“Apart from building industries in critical sectors, it will be a great idea for the state to consider investing in independent power infrastructure devoid of interference from the central government, to power households, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMES), as well as institutions with a view to boosting the state economy and creating wealth for all segments of the state.”
He lamented that even basic necessity like public potable water remains lacking in Delta and other states of the South-South, adding that even in towns and villages where private companies built boreholes, there was no electricity supply to power the boreholes to give water to the people, who rely on water from wells and individual boreholes.
Maintaining that Rivers State was doing better in terms of infrastructure development from the time of former Governor Nyesom Wike, he urged the governments of Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River and Edo states use the takings from their oil and gas resources to embark on massive electrification and industrialization of the zone to boost economic activities, create wealth and banish poverty from the region.
