FG approves four oil wells for Lagos, to commence payment of 13% derivation fund

The Federal Government today announced that four out of the five Aje oil wells have been approved for production of crude oil in Lagos. A team led by the Chairman of the Indices and Disbursement Committee of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Aliyu Mohammed, paid a courtesy visit to Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, at the Lagos House, Ikeja.Mohammed told Governor Ambode that the committee was in 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 Nigerian Constitution. 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 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.

Governor Ambode described the visit as historic as it was the official step that would take Lagos to that final destination as 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 promptest 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 actually set up. It gladdens me to say that the institution works and is working for the good of Nigeria” he said