Application of 13% Derivation Fund in Akwa Ibom State: Matters Arising

At the inception of the current democratic regime in 1999, non-implementation of 13% derivation formula was a source of much agitations which metamorphosed from minor unorganized hostilities to highly sophisticated cocktail of militant organizations, and criminal gangs which fed on agitations for fair play in development of the region which metamorphosed from minor unorganized hostilities to highly sophisticated cocktail of militant organizations, bringing governors of the Niger Delta states into closer alliance in quest for better existential conditions for their people. Against the backdrop of the activities of the kleptomaniac governing elites, it appears that allocating more money to the States may not be a guarantee that the funds will be used for the purpose for which they were appropriated. Consequently, the establishment of an institution charged solely with the responsibility of applying the derivation funds to address the nagging developmental needs of the inhabitants of the oil producing communities in the state is recommended.

is that for the purpose of Revenue Allocation, a certain percentage of revenue derived from any resource should be given to the state from, which such resource is derived. Although Akwa Ibom State is one of the leading oil producing states in the Niger Delta, her tremendous potential for economic growth and sustainable development remains unfulfilled and its future threatened by deteriorating economic conditions that are not being addressed by present policies and actions. Not surprising, the questions begging for answer is how Akwa Ibom State had utilized the alleged insufficient past allocations to addressing the development needs of her citizens. The development problematic is about understanding the relation between affluence and affliction: wealth generates poverty in the state because the enormous wealth from oil has existed side-by-side extremely poor communities.

Objectives of the Study (i)
To examine the performance of State Governments in terms delivery of development to inhabitants of the Oil and Gas Producing Areas (ii) Investigate the level of understanding and uses of derivation fund (iii) To examine the extent to which people of the oil and Gas producing Areas have benefited from the derivation fund (iv) To examine Institutions established by State Governments for the sole purpose of managing the derivation fund (v) Examine the peoples' view on how make governance of derivation resource space transparent and accountable to the people of Oil and Gas Producing Areas.

Method of the Study
The study was conducted in two Local Government Areas of Akwa Ibom State namely Uyo and Ibeno. The communities sampled in the State are Uko, Offot, Ukpenekang, Iwokpom Obolom and Iwu Okpom Obolom. Fifty respondents were sampled from each Local Government Area (LGA) making the sample size One Hundred (100) respondents. In addition, two Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) involving Thirty (30) conveniently selected participants from communities in the two Local Government Areas were also conducted to elicit supplementary qualitative information on the subject of interest. The FGDs was guided by an inventory guide to ensure uniformity of responses elicited from respondents and special consideration was taken to ensure that diverse elements of the population of selected communities were represented. Methodology Workshop/Report Writing meetings were organized to train field enumerators on the study's underlying philosophical framework, creation of rapport in the field and administration of the questionnaire as well as conduct of pre-test to ascertain the validity of the instrument; while the report writing meetings considered and agreed on a report writing framework for the preliminary and final reports. The data was essentially derived from primary and secondary sources. The primary data emanated from questionnaire instrument which was carefully developed along thematic areas or focus of the study was administered One Hundred (100) respondents drawn equally from each of the Two Local Government Areas and communities carefully chosen to ensure all geographical and ethno-linguistic groups in the State were represented. Enumerators who were selected from the study's locale are proficient in the local language, familiar with the socioeconomic and political profiles of the communities. This facilitated a generally and relatively hitch free administration of the questionnaire. Field data gathering activities commenced on the 18 th April and ended on the 23 rd of May, 2019.
To augment data from primary sources, the research team embarked on a vigorous acquisition of relevant literatures and materials to establish baseline information on the indicators and assessment criteria for good governance. To this end, the processes of review of relevant literature include: the acquisition and review of relevant literatures in line with the objectives of the study, establishment of baseline information on socioeconomic, cultural environment, resource utilization and development, accountability, transparency, and participatory management of oil revenue. On completion of field data collection, the research team developed a code book and thereafter commenced data entering into SPSS data base. The findings are presented in charts and tables. We also used historical (secondary) data to reinforce the primary data. Historical events are more convincing if properly demonstrated. This is what our method of analysis tended to emphasize.
A major limitation of the study is that it took more time for enumerators to interview all the respondents. This is because some respondents were out at the time of calling, but were contacted by recalling while others though in, found the time inconvenient and so on such respondents a call back was made at another time. Furthermore, the heavy rainy season slowed down the speed of movement from one community to another since the enumerators relied on motorbikes and bicycles as major means of transportation. The high level of illiteracy was another problem. Consequently, the interviewers have to spend more time on individual respondent translating questions from English to Pidgin English or and local languages where some respondents do not understand even Pidgin English. It was also difficult to access relevant government documents/publications especially those on disbursement of 13% derivation fund due in part, to unnecessary bureaucracy and suspicion by government officials of intention of researchers.

Analytical Frame Work
Anglo-American political theory uses the term "government" to refer to the formal institutions of the state and their monopoly of legitimate coercive power. Hence government is characterized its ability to enforce them. In agreement with this view, Stoker (1998) argues that government is understood to refer to the formal and institutional processes which operate at the level of the nation state to maintain public order and facilitate collective action. However, the growing theoretical work on governance has resulted in redirection of the use and import of the concept of "government". Governance signifies a change in the meaning of government, referring to a new process of governing; or a changed condition of ordered rule; or a new method by which society is governed (Rhodes, 1996;Stoker, 1998).
The point needing stress is that governance is ultimately concerned with creating the conditions for ordered rule and collective action. The outputs of governance are not therefore different from those of government. It is a rather a matter of a difference in processes. The governance perspective also draws attention to the increased involvement of the private and voluntary sectors in service delivery and strategic decision making. Consequently, responsibilities that were previously the near exclusive responsibility of government have been shared. Contracting -out and public-private partnerships are now part of the reality of public services and decision-making in the state.
The Governance perspective demands that these voluntary sector organizations be recognized for the scale and scope of their contribution to tackling collective concerns without reliance on the formal resources of the government. Responsibilities have also been taken up by the private sector as well as not-for-profit organizations. Governance as an interactive process involves various forms of partnership. Governance is the act of governing. It relates to decision that define expectations, grant power, or verify performance. It consists of either a separate process or part of decision making or leadership processes. In modern nation-states, these processes and systems are typically administered by structures, agencies and institutions at different levels of government; as such, when discussing or evaluating governance in particular organizations or government, the quality of governance within the structure of government is often compared to standards of good governance. We may distinguish the term governance from government; "governance" is what a "governing body" does. It might be a geo-political entity (nation state), a corporate entity (business entity), a socio-political entity (Chiefdom tribe, family) etc, or any number of different kinds of governing bodies, but governance is the way rules are set and implemented.
There is no single and exhaustible definition of "good governance" nor is there a delimitation of its scope, which commands universal acceptance. The term is used with great flexibility, even though this poses some default at the operational level. In a nutshell, good governance relates to political and institutional processes and outcomes that are deemed necessary to achieve the goods of development. It is a process whereby public institutions conduct public affairs, manage public resources and guarantee the realization of human rights in a manner essentially free of abuse and corruption, and with regard for the rule of law. The true test of good governance is the degree to which it delivers on the promise of effectively guaranteeing the citizens' right to quality health care service, adequate housing, sufficient food, quality education, justice, equity and personal security. Governance is a broad concept, for our purpose, the study aligns with the view of Wohlmut (1999) who submits that good governance pertains to the key issues of democracy, development, popular participation, transparency, accountability, responsiveness to public needs and improving the capacity of government agencies to deliver public services, and how to improve the quality and efficiency of public administration and the civil service.

Findings of the Study
Akwa Ibom State received the highest total Mineral Revenue of N873.589 billion from 2012-2016 from 2012-2016(NEITI, 2019). As the State that received the highest share of federal allocations in 2016, based on the payment of 13% of petroleum revenues to States of derivation, Akwa Ibom has acquired a tradition of embarking on expensive prestige projects with no apparent benefit for its poor inhabitants. According to NEITI, Akwa Ibom state received the sum of N143.6 billion in 2017 from the Federation Account, reflective of improved global crude oil prices. The inability of the State to develop and generate revenue within the State economic prowess exposed it to internal and external loans. As the statutory receipts could not finance the entire budget, the government of Akwa Ibom continued to take opaque loans during the year. As in other states, the political processes seemed to be skewed in favour of entrenched political interests. The study was conducted in two Local Government Areas of Akwa Ibom State namely Uyo and Ibeno. The communities sampled are Uko, Offot, Ukpenekang, Iwokpom Obolom and Iwu Okpom Obolom. Fifty respondents were sampled from each Local Government Area making the sample size One Hundred (100) respondents. Although efforts were made to achieve gender parity in selection of respondents, data at the disposal of the study showed that 63 or 63.0% of respondents are male while 37 or 37.0% other respondents are female. Given the nature of the rural economy, the women were either away to the farm or market; hence it was difficult to meet most of them at home in course of the study. Table 1 above and graphical distribution shown in Figure 1 below presents the gender distribution of the respondents.  Table 2 shows that 40 or 40.0% of the respondents fall within the age range of 18 to less than 35 years, another 54 or 54.0% of the respondents are 35 to less than 65 years, while 5 or 5% other respondents are 65 years and above. This implies that the study captured the active population of the study area who are experienced enough to answer the questions contained in research instrument.  Data in Figure 2 shows that 2 or 2.0% of respondents attended no school at all, 9 or 9.0% of respondents indicated they had some form of primary education, 7 or 7.0% of respondents stated that they completed primary education. Another 26 or 26% of the respondents claimed the completed secondary education while as high as 55 or 55% of the respondents claimed they were educated above secondary level. The level of educational attainment contributed to the success of the field work as the respondents were eager to participate in the study.  With respect to marital status, 51 or 51.0% of respondents stated that they are single while another 49 or 49.0% of the respondents claimed they are married. The study revealed that the major housing arrangements of the study area are rented apartment, bungalow and traditional housing types especially in the rural areas. Data on table 3 above and graphical distribution shown in Figure 3 below underscores this fact.  As shown in Table 4, 34 or 34.0% of respondents stated that they live in rented apartment; 26 or 26.0% other respondents stated that they live in bungalow, another 16 or 16.0% of respondents indicated they live in traditional housing type; 8 or 8.0% of respondents claimed they share rooms with their friends. 3 or 3.0% and 13 or 13.0% the respondents stated that they live Duplex and other forms of housing arrangement respectively. The traditional housing and bungalow housing types are the predominant housing arrangements in the rural areas, while the rented apartment and duplex are common in Uyo the State capital. Room sharing arrangement with a friend is common among the young people and this housing type is spread among communities in the study area.
With respect to the profession of respondents, facts at the disposal of the study show that 24 or 24.0% of the respondents are self -employed in trade, 15 or 15.0% are students, 14 or 14.0% of the respondents are engaged in farming/fishing while 11 or 11.0% other respondents are private sector employees. Most of those who claimed they are engaged in farming/fishing are resident in Ibeno which to a large extent is a fishing community. 7 or 7.0% of the respondents are civil servants (both State and Local Government Council employees); other 6 or 6.0% o of respondents stated they are contractors. 11 or 11.0% of respondents claimed they are unemployed; another 2 or 2.0% of respondents are engaged in unpaid work, 1 or 1.0% of the respondents have no profession while other 9 or 9.0% of respondents are engaged in other forms of business which they could not categorize. Data on Table 5 above below underscores this fact. It is therefore not a surprise that as high as 89 or 89.0% of the respondents stated that they have dependants. Of the entire respondents, 31 or 31.0% of respondents stated that they have secondary source of income, while 69 or 69.0% other respondents indicated they do not. Furthermore, 22 or 22.0% of those respondents who stated that they have secondary source of income indicated that they are involved in occasional business; 3 or 3.0% and 1 or 1.0% of respondents stated that they benefit from personal and occasional transfer respectively. This information is important for this study as it reveals the economic status of respondents in the selected communities and how they cope with their living conditions (See Table 6).    Those respondents who stated that there is electricity supply in their communities claimed that its supply is irregular. As high as 39 or 39.0% of respondents said electricity supply is somewhat irregular, 15 or 15.0% of the respondents stated that it is somewhat irregular. Data on table 7 above and graphical distribution shown in figure 5 below underscores this fact.
Majority of the respondents 41 or 41.0% claimed indicated that electricity supply is not constant, while 6 or 6.0% of respondents claimed that there is constant electricity in their communities. The point of interest is that some communities have generating set provided by Local Government Councils. Graphical distribution shown in figure 7 below underscores this fact.

Figure 5: Pie Chart Showing Distribution of Respondents on Regularity of Electricity Supply
On the causes of irregular power supply, 19 or 19.0% and 5 or 5.0% of the respondents stated that the absence or irregular electricity supply could be traced to the absence or improper functioning of transformers and the problem of electric poles. Graphical distribution shown in Figure 6 above underscores this fact. Some of the most striking cases of neglect in the state are found in Uquo and Upenekan communities in Esit Eket and Ibeno Local Government Areas respectively. In spite of Ibeno having one of the most prolific fields in the Niger Delta, these towns are reputed for chronic levels of poverty, underdevelopment, and shanty communities. To test the reliability of the above response(s) the study sought to know the types of social services available in respondents' community/neighbourhood. 54 or 54% of respondents stated there is health delivery services while another 46 or 46.0% of respondents stated that there is none; 76 or 76.0% of the respondents stated there is lack of portable water while 24 or 24.0% other respondents said water is available; 50 or 50.0% of respondents claimed that electricity is available, while another 50 or 50.0% other respondents stated that it is not available. The study further revealed that the crisis of unemployment is real. 85 or 85% of the respondents stated that there is lack of employment opportunities, while as low as 15 or 15% of the respondents claimed that there are employment opportunities.
The study also revealed that there is high access to primary and secondary education in the state. 87 or 87% of respondents stated there is access to primary education; 13 or 13% of respondents indicated non-access; 58 or 58% other respondents stated there is access to secondary education while 42 or 42% of respondents stated there is lack of access to secondary education. Ibeno Local Government Area comprised of twenty-six villages and they all used Secondary Grammar School, Upenekang owned by the State Government. Students here sit on bare floor to learn. The situation appears to different with respect to access to Higher School Education as 81 or 81% of the respondents claimed lack of access to Higher School Education while another 19 or 19.1% of respondents indicated that there is access to Higher School Education. Similarly, 30 or 30% of respondents stated there is access to University Education while another 70 or 70% other respondents claimed lack of access to University Education. Data on table 8 below underscores this fact. Potable drinking water and hospitals are in non-existence in Ibeno. The community has over ten abandoned water projects. There is no electricity. They are supplied water from Eket. Those who could not afford to buy the water from Eket, drink well water. The respondents rated the state low in terms of public transportation provisioning as 64 or 64% of the respondents said that transportation is not available while 36 or 36% of other respondents said it is available. With respect to employment opportunities, the response of the respondents showed that there is crisis of unemployment in the state. As low as 23 or 23% of respondents said there is access to state government employment opportunities; 77 or 77.0% of respondents' responded in the negative; 19 or 19% of respondents stated there is access to Local Government employment opportunities while an overwhelming majority of respondents (81 or 81.0%) said there is lack of access. For the oil companies, 11 or 11% of respondents indicated there is access to oil companies' employment opportunities while as high as 89 or 89% of respondents claimed lack of access to employment opportunities by oil companies. There is absence of critical social investment in health care delivery by the State, Local Government and the Oil companies. Data on table 9 above underscores this fact. Ibeno communities have persistently been ravaged by crude oil spill for which the people have been denied the benefits in terms of 13% derivation.
To ascertain the consistency of the above responses, the study sought to know if there are some services or facilities the respondents do not have but would like to have? 84 or 84% of the respondents answered in the affirmative just as 16 or 16% other respondents said No. Graphical distribution shown in figure 7 below underscores this fact.  Social Services On the reason for their assessment; 11 or 11.0% of respondents stated that government promotes inequality, 37 or 37.0% of respondents indicated bad governance, another 26 or 26.0% chose corruption, 11 or 11.0% of the respondents stated no reason for their response. Graphical distribution shown in figure 9 below underscores this fact.

Perception of Knowledge of 13% Derivation Fund
Facts at the disposal of the researchers show that respondents seem to understand what derivation means. An overwhelming majority of the respondents (90 or 90.0%) said it is that derivation permits a certain percentage of revenue derived from crude oil to be paid to the States in direct proportion of minerals extracted from the State. Furthermore, 10 or 10% other respondents stated that it is false. Similarly, a great majority of respondents (86 or 86%) stated that it is True that it was for administrative purpose only that Derivation fund was routed through the state rather than communities. Also, 14 or 14% other respondents stated that it is false. Data on table 10 below underscores this fact. On the remittance of the funds, 65 or 65% of the respondents indicated that the fund should be remitted directly to oil bearing communities instead of the State Government, 35 or 35.0% of respondents hold the view that the derivation fund should be domiciled with the State Government. Graphical distribution shown in figure 10 below underscores this fact.

Figure 10: Distribution of Responses on Remittance of 13% Derivation Fund to Oil Bearing Communities
Those respondents who want the 13% derivation fund to be remitted directly to oil bearing communities seem not to be very clear why this should be so. Also, 57 or 57% of respondents stated that Non accountability and misappropriation by the State government has become endemic; 43 or 43.0% other respondents stated No. 51 or 51.0% indicated that the 13% derivation fund is not part of the consolidated revenue of any tier of government; 49 or 49.0% of respondents answered in the negative; 47 or 47.0% stated that it underscores loss of faith and significant loss of faith between the oil bearing communities and the state government however, 53 or 53.0% of respondents stated otherwise, that is 'No'. Again, 48 or 48.0% of respondents stated that the derivation fund remains largely unnoticed in the oil bearing communities; other 52 or 52.0% of respondents disagreed with this view. Data on table 9 above underscores this fact. The foregoing responses create the impression that some community members do not understand the reasons for the call for direct remittance of the derivation fund directly to the communities rather than through the state government. No (%) i. Non-accountability and misappropriation has become endemic among state government 57 43 ii. 13 percent derivation fund is not part of the consolidated revenue of any tier of government , whether Federal , State or local government, and has therefore, been illegally appropriated by states to the detriment of oil bearing communities 51 49 iii). It underscores a loss faith and significant disconnect between state government and the people of oil bearing communities 47 53 iv). The impact of the 13 percent derivation fund remains largely unnoticed in the oil bearing communities which have continued to suffer neglect and deepening impoverishment 48 52 Source: Field Survey, April 2019. Some respondents think there is need for special agency, or commission to be established to manage the application of the 13 per cent derivation fund for oil producing communities in the state. Some elites especially those in Government reasoned that those calling for establishment should be careful about creating institutions because of its tendency to bureaucratize the functions of such institution. They argue that if such institution is created it will have need for offices, incur overhead cost, need capital and logistics to run the offices, and the money that will be use in servicing the bureaucracy will be a subtraction for the amount of money that will be available to the state. This school of thought reasoned that what the state really need is a transparent budgeting system that everybody will know that this is the money we have, how it was spent and be able to follow through. Against this backdrop, the call for direct remittance seems an elite driven agenda or ineffective sensitization of the grassroots on the benefit of resource governance institution. This situation notwithstanding, it came out strongly that the agitation for resource control by inhabitants of the oil bearing will continue, despite the constitutional provision that increased derivation from the paltry 3% in 1992 to the present 13%. Why this will be so, can be seen on the table 10 below. Akwa Ibom State is yet to established by law any or organization to receive and to administer exclusively 13% oil derivation fund accruing to the state even though the State is an oil producing state. Data on table 10 shows that agitation for resource control will continue due to corruption (70 or 70.0%) and perceived government deprivation/neglect (15 or 15%)

Perceptions of the Most Beneficial Effects of the Present Administration in the State
To assess the effects of the present administration in the state, the study posed the question is there any government presence in your community? In response, 34 or 34.0% of respondents stated yes; 66 or 66.0% other respondents said No. Graphical distribution shown in figure 11 below underscores this fact.

Figure 11: Bar Chart Showing Distribution of Responses on Government Presence in Communities
When asked to state the most beneficial effects of the present administration in order of importance, the response of the respondents showed that that the present administration had made progress in the following areas: improvement of local agriculture (17 or 17.0%), increased opportunity for small scale business to spring up (15 or 15.0%), and opportunities to execute contracts (14 or 14.0%). These are followed closely by increased employment opportunity for local populace (11 or 11.0%), scholarship for training of youth (11 or 11.0%); welfare programme for the Community (10 or 10.0%) and increased revenue to government in the form of tax (8 or 8.0%). Data on table 11 below underscores this fact.

Rating of Government's Performance with reference to some aspects of Sustainable Development
In Table 12, 52 or 52.0% of the respondents stated they are very satisfied with government's performance on provision of scholarship for training of youth and women; 10 or 10% other respondents indicated they are satisfied; 37 or 37.0% of respondents claimed Do not know/Uncertain; while only 1 or 1.0% other respondents stated they are very satisfied. A relatively high percentage of respondents: 53 or 53.0% stated they very unsatisfied with the provision of infrastructural facilities; another 28 or 28.0% of respondents indicated they satisfied, 1 or 1.0% of respondents stated it is very satisfactory; 18 or 18.0% of respondents indicated that they do not know. With respect to provision of employment opportunities for indigenes of host communities, as high as 54 or 54.0% of the respondents said it is very unsatisfactory, 18 or 18.0% of respondents stated is satisfactory; while 28 or 28.0% other respondents stated they Don't know/Uncertain. In a similar vein, 53 or 35.0% of the respondents indicated they are very unsatisfied the provision of opportunities for contract work; interestingly, 17 or 17.0% of respondents stated they are satisfied; another 1 or 1.0% of respondent is very satisfied, and 29 or 29.0% of respondents claimed they Do not know/Uncertain. With respect to improvement of local agriculture, most of the respondents stated they are very unsatisfied with government's performance. 53 or 53% of the respondents stated very unsatisfactory. Interestingly, 25 or 25.0% of respondents indicated they are satisfied, 3 or 3.0% of respondents stated very satisfied, while 19 or 19.0% stated they Do not know/Uncertain.
The trend does not seem to change with respect to government's aiding of small scale industry: 54 or 54.0% of respondents claimed that government's effort in this regard is very unsatisfactory; 12 or 12.0% other respondents indicated satisfactory; 2 or 2.0% of respondents stated very satisfactory while as high as 32 or 32.0% of respondents they Don't Know/Uncertain. Although the State government claimed to be women sensitive, facts at disposal of this assessment proved otherwise. Also, 45 or 45% of the respondents rated government's effort as per Women Development Programmes Very Unsatisfactory, 21 or 21,0% of respondents rated it Satisfactory, 34 or 34.0% other respondent claimed they Do not know/Uncertain. The same unsatisfactory faith befell Youth Development Programmes in the State. 49 or 49.0% of the respondents stated that the youth development programmes are Very Unsatisfactory, 18 or 18.0% of respondents stated they are Satisfactory while as high as 33 or 33.0% other respondents claimed that they do not know or are Uncertain.  Against the above backdrop, the study posed the question asking: 'Everything considered, how please or displeased are you with the present administration'? Answer to this question seems to corroborate the findings above. For instance, 32 or 32.0% of the respondents stated they are very Displeased, 16 or 16.0% of respondents indicated they are Somewhat Displeased, 26 or 26.0% of respondents claimed they are Neither Pleased nor Displeased, 20 or 20.0% of the respondents stated they are Somewhat Pleased; a very negligible 4 or 4.0% of respondents stated they are Very Pleased while 2 or 2.0% of respondents indicated No Response. Graphical distribution shown in figure 12 below underscores this fact. Present Administration Some of the reasons for the respondents' displeasure with the Government derived from the Poor state of Social Services such as Health Care; Education; lack of Portable water; Unemployment and Poor State of Infrastructure. The point of interest is that an overwhelming majority of the respondents (98 or 98.0%) stated they have High expectations that the Government will do better while 2 or 2.0% of the respondents do not expect that Government will change the situation for better days ahead (See Figure 13). This should not be a surprise because Akwa Ibom State appeared to the most prudent, as its recurrent expenditure profile only 25%, 31%, 47%, 57% and 52% of its total revenue from 2012 to 2016 respectively was expended on recurrent expenditure. The State's Capital Expenditure is as follows: 2012 (281,868); 2013 (264,632); 2014 (194,573); 2015 (114,415); 2016 (92,306), making a total of 138,668 (NEITI, 2019). The 2017 budget showed parity between recurrent and capital expenditure. This is interesting because increase in recurrent expenditure will negatively impact available funds for capital expenditure thereby denying the citizens the much needed infrastructure for development of the State.

Discussion of Findings
Akwa Ibom state received the highest share of federal allocation in 2017, based on the payment of 13% of petroleum revenues to the states of derivation. Unfortunately, the State has acquired a tradition of embarking on expensive /prestigious projects or what some respondents termed "elephant projects" with limited benefits for its poor inhabitants. According to Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Akwa Ibom state received the sum of N143.6 in 2017 from the Federation Account, reflective of improved global crude oil prices. Unfortunately, since the statutory receipts could not finance the entire budget for the same year, Government of the resorted to opaque loans during the year (Social Action, 2017).
Although some respondents' resident in Uyo, the State capital stated Government, has made some progress in addressing some of the nagging problems of development, it really not in the dimension envisaged by the people of the states especially, those from the oil producing areas against the backdrop of the huge revenue which accrued to the State from 13% derivation fund. Data at the disposal of the study revealed that vital sectors such as education, health, electricity supply, pipe borne water and employment generation were below expectations of inhabitants of the Oil Producing Areas. It came out strongly from special interviews that part of the problem of "Low performance or service delivery" could be traced to poor management of oil derivation in particular and public finance in general. This, they claimed, compounded the impoverishment of the citizens as the State continue to be characterized by wide spread poverty, low employment rate, inadequate infrastructure and social services.
Some government officials who spoke to the research team on condition of anonymity stated that the stated under the present administration of appeared to be a departure from the last administration even though they are from the same political party from development trends of the State with visible renovation and construction of schools and hospitals and other infrastructure, inhabitants of the oil producing areas argue that government's effort at social services and infrastructure provisioning are with less focus on their communities. Data at the disposal of the study showed that the state of development of physical infrastructure does not march the revenue profile of the state. Despite the fact that elite of the oil producing communities claimed that government have awarded contracts for some projects, some of the respondents stated that the contracts "were tied to a patronage system especially during the just concluded political electioneering period.
General perception of inhabitants of the non-oil producing areas is that the 13 per cent does not come separately or tailor-made for only oil producing areas of the state, but it is captured in the state -wide budget and used for the development of the whole state. This implies that the affected people are not benefiting from the 13 per cent derivation fund because of the elite economy in place. The elite are just sharing the money and all the benefits that should accrue to the people of the oil producing communities who are left in the cold.
Although the 2017 budget of the State achieved a relative parity between recurrent and capital expenditures; however, close perusal of the budget shows that actual budget implementation was skewed in favour of re-current spending. For example, education and health got 2.4% and 1.6% respectively in the budget. The poor allocation to these crucial sector, according to Social Action (2017), may not be surprise considering that top politicians and policy makers in the State often travel abroad for medical treatment and also send their children to expensive private schools within Nigeria and abroad. Worse still, despite the small allocations to education and health sectors, it was found that projects in the budget are mostly unexecuted.
For example, like projects in the educational and health sectors, projects approved for the agricultural sector were at most partially executed. In fact, some projects were not even carried out. This is the case with the Small Ruminant Project with was designed to construct 2 No. Standard Goat Houses and Establishment of 2 ha Goat Browsing Paddocks at Adadia, in Uruan for which N5.95m, procurement of 200 WAD Goats for farms at Adadia, Uruan and Distribution to participants of Small Holders Scheme -N2.7m, Provision for Supplementary Feeds, Drugs/Vaccines for N1.35m. Although the sum of N10 million was allocated to the project in 2016 fiscal year, the project also got another N10 million in 2017 yet members of the beneficiary communities claimed not to be aware of the project. The point to note is that "the level of investment of a State in its Economic, Educational and Social sectors directly impacts the State's overall growth and development by improving investors' confidence and private sector participation in the development of the State. The standard of living of its people would also increase through job creation and intellectual property development" (NEITI, 2019: 24). Akwa Ibom State, unlike Delta, Edo and Ondo States, is yet established an agency of a commission to that will be statutorily charged with the development of her oil producing communities. Some elites in government felt that the quantum of oil produced in the state is not much to warrant establishment of an institution or agency to administer the 13% derivation fund due the State. This should not be a surprise because the study here revealed that majority of the respondents knows little about 13% derivation. Yet, efforts to fast-track the development of the region particularly, the oil and gas producing communities has led to the setting up of Agencies, Commissions and a Ministry as a direct response to growing agitation of indigenes of the area who many years suffered deprivation and neglect from government. Few will question nowadays, the critical role institutions, institution building and institutional reforms play in the process of economic and social development. Institutions and development interact in a two-way relationship such that institutions can help accelerate the rate of economic development, while the latter may trigger institutional reforms.
There are several perspectives to the definition of institution. Rains (1989) observed that institutions define how people inhabiting a certain landscape and having command over given resources decide to organize themselves for economic activity. Institutions may also be seen as "a set of structures, lasting patterns of behaviours and relationships(roles) that are guided and supported by broad societal values, regulated by certain norms of conduct(rules) and operationalized by organizations" (Dia: 1996). For North (1991), institutions are the humanly devised constraints that structure political, economic and social interaction; while the World Bank, (2002) defined institutions to refer to rules, enforcement mechanisms, and organizations.
This debate must not detain us here however; it is important to emphasize that institutions are contextsensitive. Hence, it is often sensible for each country, state or region to develop its own institutions. Different social contexts, conditions and leaderships yield vastly different outcomes for the same type of institutions. Each country's historical and cultural heritage constitutes an important factor in the evolution and transformation of its institutions. While institutions and governance are legitimate areas of concern for effective utilization of 13% derivation fund for the benefit of Oil and Gas producing areas, the study contends that these institutions can quickly be turned into predatory organs riddled with corruption, mismanagement, ineffectiveness and inefficiency if the people fail to monitor their activities and operations regularly.
Participants in the Special Interview opined that building appropriate and effective institutions is fundamental to good governance and improvement of the existential conditions of inhabitants of the oil and gas producing areas. There is thus an urgent need to institutionalize the management of 13% derivation fund in the State through a legal framework that will enthrone equity and transparency, create awareness of its existence, and build capacity of citizens to monitor the activities of such institution. It is also necessary that the State government design socioeconomic development plans, projects and programmes that are capable of creating employment and socially equitable sustainable development in the oil and gas producing areas in particular and the State in general.
Food production capacity of the communities and income generation from agriculture and fishing of the communities is significantly threatened as a result of crude oil production activities. Consequently, it is important that government pays attention to food security and sustainable agriculture. Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. Energy is essential to all human activities. In fact, it is inevitable for poverty alleviation and the production of goods and services. Over 70% of the respondents live without access to electricity. Energy demand in the study area is dominated by the use of wood as fuel.

Conclusion and Recommendations
The relevant question and development policy issue the study raises is no longer "Do institutions matter?" in effective and efficient use of 13% derivation fund? But "which institution(s) will be more effective and efficient for the development of the Oil Producing Areas, and how do governments of the Niger Delta build and nurture such institution(s) and address the resource management question pointedly? a strong, effective and efficient oil revenue governance institution(s) is/are called for to manage the use of 13% derivation fund. Getting the institutions right is critical for supply of electricity, health, portable water, food, education and environmental protection. However, if the institution(s) are vulnerable to the problem of the State in Nigeria especially, corruption, they will be fatal to sustainable community development. It is common knowledge that in Nigeria, bureaucracies are prone to two problems: they can be captured by the interests they are supposed to defend; they also create extreme red-tapism which discourages economic activities. Consequently, the focus should not just be about creating institutions because the effectiveness of these institutions is largely a function of their degree of independence and professionalism.
While economic and democratic governance are legitimate areas of concern for the sustainable development of community people, they must be cast within the broader context of the need to build strong effective institutions of political governance. To improve governance, Akwa Ibom State needs to lay more emphasis on decentralization and devolution of power. The pervasive weakness of Local Government Councils and lack of capacity for them is a case in point. It is against this backdrop that the study put forward the following recommendations: 1.
There is an urgent need for the State Government to establish and manage an effective and transparent institution that will use the 13% derivation fund to the benefit of the people.

2.
The Government should address more vigorously, the issue of service delivery, transparency and accountability in public service 3.
Cultivate and nurture an environment that will accelerate poverty reduction and enthrone sustainable development.

4.
To play an active role in enthroning good governance, civil society has to emerge as a strong voice in the development process. This implies that it has to play a vital role in mobilizing the citizens to pressure government to establish 13% derivation fund institution, articulating social demands for its use and providing countervailing influences to elicit accountable performance and transparency in the use of derivation fund.