THE Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (FMAFC) have begun plotting coordinates for disputed and newly drilled oil and gas fields located on the boundaries of oil producing states.
The fields involve Edo and Delta states, Ondo and Delta, Anambra and Delta, Anambra and Imo, Rivers and Imo, Rivers and Bayelsa, Rivers and Akwa Ibom, and Cross River and Akwa Ibom.
Speaking at the opening of a five-day event involving officials of the affected states and Federal Government agencies, the Chairman, RMAFC, Dr. Mohammed Shehu disclosed that the coordinates have been identified and would be plotted during the meeting.
Shehu assured the states of fair and equal treatment, adding that the Commission has the constitutional mandate to ensure that 13% Derivation is distributed equitably to oil and gas producing states.
He explained that the Commission last June inaugurated an inter-agency technical committee which comprised the National Boundary Commission, the Office of the Surveyor General, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission and RMAFC to verify and plot coordinates for disputed and newly drilled oil and gas wells of the affected states.
He said: “It is constitutional that 13% derivatives be given to states where minerals are produced, especially crude oil and gas. So it is in this respect that NUPRC wrote to the Commission so that we can verify the coordinates of those new oil wells and those disputed ones. And this is what the Commission did.
“In October or September (2025), we went to the field. I was there myself at the opening ceremony, and we actually went to the field to take those coordinates. And we did it in conjunction with the Surveyor Generals of all the oil producing states so that they can be witnesses. And NUPRC, as well as the Office of the Surveyor General of the Federation, as well as National Boundary Commission. We had uniforms. They have been to the high sea. They have been to the creeks. They have been everywhere. That exercise just recently concluded sometime last week. So it is those reports that they brought to us.
“Now the plotting of the coordinates will start. There have been traditional disputes between states in terms of who owns what. So this is a continuation of verification of those things.
“You know, whenever new oil fields start producing after a while, they will want to know which state actually owns that or which state should get that 13 percent derivative. So it is in this line that we are doing this exercise, and we intend to do it fairly, justly, and equitably, without any bias”, he added.
Shehu disclosed that the plotting of the coordinates would take five days, adding that the final report would be ready next week”.
Speaking earlier, the Chairman of the Inter-agency Technical Committee, Kadija Umo explained that the government RMAFC took time to physically verify the coordinates to ensure that they were accurate.
Vanguard
