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.
“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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