S/South Governors Decry Linking Of Boko Haram To 13% Derivation

The governors of the South-South region have condemned the attempt to link the increasing insecurity in parts of the country to the issue of 13 per cent derivation.

Governor of Central Bank, Mallam Lamido Sanusi had recently linked activities of the militant Islamic sect, Boko Haram, to the 13 per cent derivation fund being given to oil-producing states.

In the communiqué issued at the end of the first ordinary session of the BRACED Commission Governor's Council, 2012, the governors described the notion as "misplaced and unfortunate."

BRACED is the acronym for the six south-south states, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Edo and Delta States.

Reading the communiqué by 1:40am, yesterday at the executive council chambers of the governor's office, calabar, the chairman of the council, Liyel Imoke, flanked by the other governors, said that on the contrary, the issue to be addressed is the environmental degradation and pollution in Niger Delta, occasioned by oil exploitation which has adversely affected fishing and farming activities.