Contending Issues in the Niger Delta Crisis of Nigeria - Journal of ...

Clement Odiri Obagbinoko
this body it became clear later that it was a ploy by the political power
elite to also extend the ‘special treatment’
in the Niger Delta to the rest of the country because ten other River
Basin Authorities were created across the country by the River Basin
Decree of 1976. (Faniran, 1977).
Again the Niger Delta Basin
Development Authority as conceived could not have met the needs of
the Niger Delta people, moreso by 1976, the oil companies involved in
production and the devastating effects of their activities had become a
source of concern to the local communities. The Niger Delta Basin
Development Authorities was thus a mere façade (Sada, 2000:5).
During Nigeria’s Second Republic of Alhaji Shehu Shegari
(1979-1983) a paltry 3½ % of revenue allocation was allocated to the
oil producing areas of the Niger Delta. This was after Prof. Ambrose
Alli, governor of the then Bendel State recorded a landmark victory in
a legal battle with the federal government over revenue sharing
formula in 1980. In an effort to pacify the Niger Delta Region, the
military government of General Babangida that came on board in
1985, established the Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development
Commission (OMPADEC) by Decree No. 23 of 1992. The Commission,
like the Niger Delta Development Board, failed mainly due to under
funding which has been perceived as a deliberate attempt by the
Federal Government to withhold funds meant for the operations of the
Commission. (Sada, 2000:10). There was no visible and laudable
attempt by the military administration of General Sani Abacha to
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