A bill proposed by President Olusegun Obasanjo for the development of Nigeria's strife-torn Niger Delta has had a difficult time gaining unanimous acceptance.
In fact, none of the groups in the region, often in conflict with one another in recent years, have found the draft Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) bill acceptable.
On 1 September, traditional rulers from the Delta, grouped in the
Traditional Rulers Oil Mineral Producing Communities of Nigeria (TROPCON), urged the National Assembly to throw out the bill, saying it was not meant to serve the interests of the people in the oil region.
Obasanjo's bill proposes a development plan for the impoverished Delta to be funded with 0.5 percent of the annual budgets of the oil transnationals operating in the country and half of the 13 percent of oil revenue which, under the constitution, should go to each producing region.
[See separate Item: irin-english-1548 titled 'IRIN special report on proposed Niger Delta bill']
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