Governor Uduaghan Challenges FCC on Equitable Distribution of National Resources

            

The Governor of Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan has enjoined the Federal Character Commission (FCC) not to only concentrate on the equitable distribution of positions and socio-economic amenities and infrastructure but, should also ensure the fair distribution of the nation’s revenue. The Governor gave the charge when the Commissioner representing Delta State in the FCC, Chief Emmanuel Ebimami paid him a courtesy call.

According to Dr. Uduaghan, the FCC should go beyond its statutory mandate of ensuring fair and equitable distribution of positions in the public service and ensure that the nation’s resources were equitably distributed between the three tiers of government. “There is the need for FCC to deal with the complexity of the country in the distribution of positions, especially the balancing act of the different ethnic groups. Beyond that, I want to add a third mandate for the FCC, that you should ensure a fair and equitable distribution of the revenue of the nation,” the Governor said.

He explained that the charge on FCC has become necessary because the sharing of the revenue among the three tiers of the Federal, the States and Local Governments was not equitable. “As at today, most states cannot pay salaries as they do not have enough funds to do that. Funding is a very big challenge at the state level and I believe that the FCC should look into this area,” he stated.

Dr. Uduaghan who challenged the FCC to give proper advice to the Federal Government, however noted that the Federal Government under the leadership of President Goodluck Jonathan was doing a lot to reposition Nigeria in the area of infrastructural development and programmes to empower the youths.He used the occasion to call for speedy release of funds spent by the state on federal government projects, noting that his administration has done a lot in ensuring that federal roads located in Delta were in good condition.

Earlier, Chief Ebimami had thanked Governor Uduaghan for making it possible for him to serve the nation as a Commissioner in FCC, stating that the FCC was executing its mandate of ensuring fairness and equity in the distribution of positions.He called for assistance from the governor as the commission was working to take stock of the equitable distribution of federal government projects across the country.“The FCC is ensuring unity in this country, if civil service postings are equitably distributed in all the states of the country, there will be little or no disagreement among the people,” Chief Ebimami explained.