- Says Aje 3 can’t be legitimately attributed to Lagos
- Oil production will boost Nigerian economy, says Ambode
Gboyega Akinsanmi
The Federal Government on Wednesday said four of the five oil wells discovered in Badagry legitimately belonged to Lagos State, and as such the state would start receiving 13 percent derivation fund.
However, the federal government disclosed that Aje 3 oil well specifically “falls beyond the 200-mile isobaths and therefore cannot be legitimately attributed to Lagos State.”
The Chairman of Indices and Disbursement Committee, Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Alhaji Aliyu Mohammed, disclosed this during a working visit to the state governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, at the State House, Alausa.
Mohammed visited the governor alongside other members of the committee comprising Mr. Ken Kayama, Amb. Polycap Azige; Alhaji Bello Usman Maitambari; Dr. Rafiq Ogunbambi and Mrs. Matina Odom.
During the working visit, Mohammed said the revenue allocation commission set up an Inter-Agency Technical Committee which comprised the commission as part of the procedure pursuant to its constitutional mandate.
He explained that the main purpose of the working visit was “to verify crude oil and gas production from Aje oil wells for the purpose of disbursement of 13% derivation fund to the state in line with the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as Amended).”
Consequently, the chairman explained that the commission and members of the technical committee had “to embark on this working visit to conclude the process to complete its assignment”
He added that the technical committee comprised representatives from the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), office of the Surveyor General of the Federation and the National Boundary Commission (NBC) “to determine the location of Aje oil wells discovered Badagry.”
He said the technical committee recommended that “for the purpose of derivation as spelt out under Section 162 (2) of the 1999 constitution (as amended) as well as the provision of the Allocation of Revenue (Abolition of Dichotomy in the Application of Derivation) Act 2004, Aje oil wells 1, 2, 4 and 5 fall within the 200m isobaths and therefore should be attributed to Lagos State.”
