President Muhammadu Buhari had approved the payment of funds as part of oil derivation owed to states in the Niger Delta region since 1999.
On Friday, at the inauguration of the Nabo Graham Douglas campus of the Nigerian Law School in Rumueme, Port Harcourt, Wike fired a broadened.
He said the funds have significantly aided his infrastructural strides in the state, adding that the projects that were recently inaugurated by his administration had been fully paid for.
The governor added that more projects would be completed before the end of his tenure, funded by money approved by Buhari from the 13 percent derivation fund.
He, however, did not give specifics on the funds approved by the president.
“Let me say it for the first time. So many people asked me: ‘where is he getting this money? Let me say it. I want, through the attorney-general of the federation, to thank Mr President,” Wike said.
According to him, “Monies that were not paid to the Niger Delta states since 1999 — the 13 per cent deductions — monies that were not paid, Mr President approved and paid all of us from the Niger Delta states.
“And for me, it would be unfair not to tell the public. It is not from FAAC money. It is the money that is supposed to be for Rivers, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Edo, and Bayelsa states.
“Yesterday, we commissioned the ninth flyover. In December, we will commission the tenth flyover. By February next year, we will commission the eleventh and twelfth flyovers.
“So, I want to sincerely from the heart and on behalf of the government and people of the state, thank Mr President for this, because as an opposition government, he could have said ‘don’t pay’. You can’t do anything.
“Since 1999, the money has not been paid. Did we do anything? So, I want to sincerely thank him,” Wike added.
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Reactions have been trailing Wike’s comments nationwide. One of the earliest came from former Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole, who asked Delta State governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, to account for the state’s share of the 13 per cent derivation fund.
Oshiomhole, a former national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), has called on Deltans to enquire from their governor, Okowa, how he spent the over ₦250bn derivation fund recently disbursed to the oil-producing states by Buhari.
Ex-labour leader, Oshiomhole, at the weekend’s APC presidential campaign in Warri, stated that Deltans should ask their governor questions on how the funds that were given to Delta State were spent.
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Speaking in Pidgin English, the former Edo State helmsman said, “Yesterday, I nor know whether una listen to Governor Wike of Rivers State. He talk say our president, Muhammadu Buhari, gave all the Niger Delta states plenty of money wey PDP under Obasanjo from 1999, he nor gree give them. And wetin dem collect, even Edo sef got more than N100bn.
“If Edo get N100bn, Delta make una go ask Okowa, Go to Asaba if him hear wetin Wike talk, your brother from Rivers State. Him talk say Delta got over N250bn.
“This is not from the federation account but from arrears of derivation. You got over N250bn, you got over another N60bn for a refund of federal roads, you collected N10 billion to pay salary arrears, and another N10bn to pay workers’ pensions. Okowa, how come? So you must to ask am wetin Wike talk na true?
The former labour leader also lamented the state of pensioners in the country adding that if APC gubernatorial aspirant, Ovie-Omo-Agege emerges governor, he will do far better than the incumbent governor.
Oshiomhole also slammed Okowa for not keeping to the agreement of the southern governor’s forum which the governor heads.
“If a man cannot stand on his word, if there is no character, if your word is not your bond, what qualifies you to preside over Nigeria?” the former labour leader said.
The same scenario is emerging in oil-rich Akwa Ibom State where Wike’s remarks have gone viral.
A blogger, Paul Bassey, shared on social media that the clip contained the governor’s remark, asking, “Akwa Ibom, where is your money?”
Another user on the social media platform, Facebook, Emmanuel Agbogun, posted a comment, asking Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State what he had done with the oil derivation money his administration had received so far.
An APC chieftain in Akwa Ibom State, Etim Etim, penned an opinion article on the matter last weekend.
He posted, “It is a big shame and quite unconscionable that Governor Udom Emmanuel has not disclosed that he had received these derivation arrears from the Federal Government.”
Also, former special assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on prosecution, Okoi Obono-Obla, called on states in the Niger Delta to give an account of the 13 per cent derivation funds they had been receiving from the Federal Government.
Obono-Obla, an All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, urged them to emulate Wike, who, he said, gave a comprehensive report of what his state has done with the fund.
He said, “Wike stands out amongst the Niger Delta governors. I salute him for his doggedness, ebullience, and patriotism. He is exemplary, and he has given an account of what he has done for his State from the 13 per cent derivation.”
In a statement yesterday, Obono-Obla said, “Let other Niger Delta states take a cue from Governor Wike and give a just and comprehensive account of what they have done with their 13 per cent derivation fund forthwith,” Obono-Obla said in a statement on Sunday.
Obono-Obla, a lawyer and an indigene Ugep in Cross River State, explained that after losing her status as a littoral state, there was litigation in the Supreme Court initiated by the Government of Cross River State against Akwa Ibom State over ownership of 76 oil wells located in the Bakassi Peninsula which Cross River State lost.
“Cross River State has, therefore, not been enjoying the 13 per cent derivation that other Niger Delta states have been enjoying. This has placed Cross River State in great financial straits.”
Obono-Obla stated that the denial of 13 per cent derivation to Cross River State is “an egregious injustice which has to be addressed by the Federal Government.”
The former presidential aide cautioned some Niger Delta states against blaming the Federal Government for being responsible for the region’s underdevelopment.
He insisted that the region has enjoyed huge allocations from the Federal Government over the years.
He alleged that leaders of the region turned a blind eye to the looting of their resources and mismanagement by their governors.
Meanwhile, there have been calls for a constitutional review of the derivation fund to 25 per cent.
“We, therefore, need a constitution that will address the lingering issues, including but not limited to the following; devolution of power from the centre to the states, fiscal federalism, creating of state police, strengthening of the electoral system, increasing the derivation funds to not less than 25 per cent, allowing states to create and sustain local government councils and reducing the cost of governance,” he said.
