13% Derivation: Revisiting the Struggle Led by Chief Wellington Okrika, Wake-Up Call to Oil Producing Communities
As Nigeria steps into 2026 amid renewed calls for justice, accountability and inclusive governance, the Niger Delta Civil Society Forum believes it is both timely and necessary to return to history, because the future of the 13 per-cent derivation depends entirely on truth. For too long, the original intent of derivation has been obscured, leading to persistent injustice against the very communities whose resources sustain the Nigerian state. For decades, a dangerous and misleading narrative has taken root in public discourse: that the 13 per cent derivation belongs to state governments. This distortion has not only deprived oil-producing communities of their rightful benefits, it has also erased the sacrifices of those who fought, risked their safety and negotiated relentlessly to secure that historic concession. As a new year begins, the Niger Delta Civil Society Forum insists, without equivocation, that the 13 percent derivation was won by oil-producing communities,...