Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa says three per cent allocation to host communities in oil-producing states in the recently passed Petroleum Industry Bill will not end the Niger Delta crisis.

The Nasarawa governor stated this during a programme on Channels TV, suggesting that funds for the communities may be going into “private pockets.”

The three per cent to host communities in oil-producing states has generated debates as groups in Niger Delta continue to criticise the National Assembly.

Southern governors also kicked against the percentage allocated to the host communities in a meeting held in Lagos on July 5.

“The forum rejects the proposed three per cent and supports the five per cent share of the oil revenue to the host community as recommended by the House of Representatives,” chairman of the forum Rotimi Akeredolu said in a statement after their meeting.

Mr Sule said the country must pay attention to whether resources allocated to Niger Delta communities affect the region’s development or end up being used for personal aggrandisement.

“You have to look at the totality of what goes to the communities. Is it just the three per cent that is going to them?” the governor asked. “People have forgotten about the 13% derivation that goes to the states. So even if you give the three per cent or five per cent, is it changing the communities, or is it going to some private pockets?”

He further said he did not care whether the region got three or five per cent.

The governor explained, “I care less about whether it is three per cent or five per cent. The most important thing is, let us go and take a look at what is happening in the Niger Delta.

“Even if we give them five per cent, is that the end of the crisis there? It is deeper than that.”