The Coalition of Northern Leaders, academics, professionals and businessmen, has described the conviction and sentencing of former Governor of Delta State, James Ibori, to 13 years in UK prison for money laundering, as a proof of their view that the oil-producing states of the Niger Delta are getting more revenue than they have the capacity to manage.


The convener of the coalition, Dr. Junaid Mohammed in a telephone interview with SUNDAY PUNCH said the Ibori's conviction and that of former Bayelsa State Governor, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, for looting their state treasuries to the tune of hundreds of millions of pounds sterling, only showed that the 'huge' revenue allocated to the region was encouraging corruption.


“Clearly, the recent events, which are the prosecution, conviction and jailing of James Ibori, confirm in a very dramatic manner what I've been saying since 1982 when I was in parliament.


“The term 'capacity to manage' was introduced into Nigeria's revenue discussion by the late Dr. Pius Okigbo, who was the first economic adviser to the Federal Government. In the commission which he headed, which was set up by the Shehu Shagari government, he brought in the relevance of the capacity to manage resources as one of the specifications for giving people resource or denying them the same,” he said.


Re-echoing his earlier assertions, Mohammed said the amount of resources allocated to oil-producing states, including Delta and Bayelsa states, had introduced uncontrollable inflation and increased criminality. He however explained that they were not against government solving the environmental degradation of the Niger Delta.


“The earlier arrest and sentencing of Alamieyeseigha and recently, Ibori, are to me and to our organisation a complete vindication of what we have been saying. And we wish to speak for the records that we are not against the government doing something to materially address the problems of the Niger Delta, especially, the ecological problems that arise from the exploitation of oil.


“But the problem is that government has been giving money mainly to agitators, criminals, and retired generals from the Niger Delta, and particularly generals who are oil bunkerers,” he said.


Mohammed hoped that other governors of the Niger Delta states and the states in the other regions of the country, who had looted treasuries of their states would be brought to book whether inside or outside Nigeria.


On the management of Ibori's loot, Mohammed said it was good that the UK court had ruled that they be returned to the people of Delta State, but noted that giving the money to the state government led by Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, a relative of Ibori, would be as good as returning the money to Ibori.


He said, “The money should be given to the Federal Government in trust for the people of Delta State and kept until another governor takes over and then the National Assembly would pass a law to ask the Federal Government to then return the money to the state government.”