Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode on Wednesday said
that the commencement of crude oil production in the State would in no small
measure enhance the economy of not just the State but the nation in general.
The Governor, who spoke when he received the Chairman and
members of the Indices and Disbursement Committee of the Revenue Mobilisation
Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) on a courtesy visit to the Lagos
House, Ikeja, said that it was significant for the Nigeria economy that the
State has emerged as the first oil producing state outside the Niger Delta
basin.
He described the visit by the committee as remarkable in the
annals of the history of Lagos, adding that it signals the official step that
takes the State to the final destination that makes us to become an oil
producing state.
“We are very glad to receive this delegation. We also want
to thank the Federal Government, most especially President Muhammadu Buhari for
making this to happen very promptly. I want to say that this has been the
quickest action that has been taken by RMAFC since I have known the Commission.
“I used to be a former Account General so I had a lot of
transactions and relationship with the institution called RMAFC. Within a span
of about 60 days of when we wrote our letter, and even before we wrote the
letter, this technical committee was set up. It gladdens me to say that the
institution works and is working for the good of Nigeria,” the Governor said.
Governor Ambode also commended the members of the Department
of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and the Boundary Commission, saying that both have
contributed immensely to the process of the discovery and production of crude
oil in Lagos.
While alluding to the fact that the feat in Lagos has
kick-started the path to diversification of oil production in Nigeria, the
Governor urged other states in the federation to begin to activate the mineral
deposits in their domain as a means to boost their Internally Generated Revenue
(IGR).
“It would also give us revenue independence in a manner that
there would be equal growth from all the nooks and corners of Nigeria. I am
happy that RMAFC has taken this step and also to say that they should also
encourage other states to engage in such activities that would allow them to be
able to activate whatever mineral deposit that we have in the various states in
conjunction with the Federal Government, so that we can start to diversify
revenue and growth and then create a balanced growth and development for the
whole country,” Ambode said.
Earlier, Chairman of the Committee, Alhaji Aliyu Mohammed
said they were on a working visit to Lagos to verify crude oil and gas
production from Aje Oil Wells for the purpose of disbursement of the 13 per
cent Derivation Fund to the State in line with the constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria.
He said the Commission had set-up an Inter-Agency technical
Committee comprising of the RMAFC, DPR, Office of the Surveyor General of the
Federation and the National Boundary Commission to determine the location of
the Aje Oil Wells.
Mohammed said that the Technical Committee recommended that
for the purpose of the Derivation Fund as spelt out under Section 162 (2) of
the 1999 constitution as well as the provision of the Allocation of Revenue Act
2004, number 1, 2, 4 and 5 of the Aje Oil Wells fall within 200m isobaths and
therefore should be attributed to Lagos State.
He said as a result, the Commission and members of the
Inter-Agency Committee had to embark on the working visit to the Oil Wells to
conclude the process.
He added that the outcome of the visit would promote
national unity as well as the socio-economic development of Lagos State and
Nigeria.
“It is also important to state that the commencement of oil
production from Aje oil field by Yinka Folawiyo Petroleum Company Limited is
the first time oil is being produced outside the Niger Delta basin and
therefore of a significance in diversifying the source of crude and gas
production in the country,” Mohammed said.
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