The Niger Delta Civil Society Forum (NDCSF) has strongly criticized the Federal Government’s payment of N141.36 billion in 13% derivation funds to oil-producing state governments in the October 2025 revenue allocation.
The group described the long-standing practice as “unconstitutional, unjust, and detrimental to the welfare of mineral-bearing communities.”
The Forum’s position was contained in a statement issued on Saturday by its Coordinator, Comrade Ezekiel Kagbala, and made available to journalists in Warri, Delta State.
NDCSF, a coalition of civil society organisations from Delta, Edo, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa, Cross River, Ondo and other states in the region, argued that Section 162(2) of the 1999 Constitution clearly provides the derivation principle as compensation for communities directly impacted by oil and gas exploration, not state governments.
According to the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), N2.094 trillion was shared for October 2025, including N141.359 billion as 13% derivation from mineral revenue.
The NDCSF, however, insisted that nowhere in the Constitution mandates that such funds be routed through state governments.
“For more than 30 years, these funds have been paid to state governments, yet oil-producing communities remain impoverished, underdeveloped, and environmentally devastated,” the Forum stated. “There are no roads, no water, no hospitals, no youth employment, nothing to justify the trillions received over the years.”
The group accused state governments of diverting derivation funds to service debts, execute capital projects in state capitals, and advance political interests while neglecting the communities for whom the funds were constitutionally created.
It described the continued payment to states as “a gross violation of the socio-economic rights of host communities.”
“The 13% derivation fund is not a bailout for state governments, nor is it meant to reduce their debt burdens,” the statement added. “It is unacceptable that those who suffer the destructive impact of oil and gas exploration continue in pain while their rightful compensation is diverted.”
As part of its efforts to push for reforms, the Forum, in collaboration with host community leaders, submitted a position paper to the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) in Abuja on Tuesday, November 16, 2025.
The paper called for the full legal implementation of the derivation principle and recommended the establishment of 13% Derivation Boards in all oil-producing states.
On Wednesday, November 17, 2025, Kagbala led a delegation to the National Assembly where the group met with Senator Ned Nwoko, Chairman of the Senate Ad Hoc Committee on Crude Oil Theft and Sabotage.
The delegation urged legislators to support laws that would restructure the management of the derivation fund.
“If the National Assembly truly represents the people, they must end this 30-year injustice,” Kagbala said during the visit.
The NDCSF also appealed directly to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, urging him to use his constitutional powers under the Exclusive Legislative List, which covers oil and gas matters, to intervene.
“We are appealing to President Bola Tinubu to create derivation boards that will guarantee direct, unhindered benefits to oil-producing communities. The people are suffering, and the injustice must stop,” the Forum said.
The group maintained that the President has both the authority and the moral responsibility to correct what it described as one of the longest-standing fiscal distortions in Nigeria’s federal system. It also called on the National Assembly, RMAFC, and other relevant institutions to review the existing payment framework to ensure that the derivation funds reach their rightful beneficiaries.
“The era of paying derivations to state governments must end. The people of the Niger Delta have suffered enough,” the statement concluded.
