Northern and Southern delegates went for each other’s jugular as they raged over derivation at the National Conference on Thursday.
Vice chairman Bolaji Akinyemi said, “We are just going to go ahead and take decisions. We cannot continue like this. We have tried our best to be accommodative in this. Now, we go to the committee’s recommendation on resource control.”
The recommendation of the devolution committee that 13 per cent, as contained in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), be retained with a proviso that a percentage of the 13 per cent derivation devolves to the host communities, was presented.
He informed the delegates that the committee equally recommended that the issue of offshore/onshore dichotomy be left as it is.
There were proposals in the amendment that the derivation be increased to 18 per cent, 21.5 per cent, 25 per cent, 30 per cent and 40 per cent.
The drama started few minutes after delegates converged for the day’s plenary. Chairman of the Conference, Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi, sensing that there was going to be uproar over Wednesday’s recommendations by consensus group, announced that the Conference would reconvene at about 11 a.m. to enable the leadership sort out grey areas.