The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has reopened the verification of disputed and newly drilled oil and gas wells as part of efforts to resolve disagreements among producing states over the allocation of the 13 per cent derivation fund.
The commission on Thursday inaugurated a reconstituted Inter-Agency Technical Committee (IATC) to examine oil and gas wells drilled from 2017 to date after its earlier draft report was rejected following complaints and counterclaims from several states.
The new exercise will focus on confirming the coordinates of disputed wells, plotting them on approved maps and establishing their actual locations and boundaries for revenue allocation purposes.
RMAFC Chairman, Dr Mohammed Bello Shehu, said the verification was necessary to fulfil the commission’s constitutional responsibility to monitor revenue accruing to and distributed from the Federation Account.
He said resolving the disputes would help promote fairness in the distribution of derivation revenue among oil and gas-producing states.
Shehu said the previous draft report was discarded after states raised concerns that required the coordinates of some wells to be verified again. He directed the new committee to ensure that all coordinates, maps and boundaries used in the process accurately reflected conditions on the ground.
The committee was also instructed to consider relevant court judgments, work with approved maps and conduct physical inspections of affected wells whenever necessary.
RMAFC has adopted a two-tier structure to oversee the exercise. The first tier will consist of technical officers and experts from RMAFC, the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation (OSGoF), the National Boundary Commission (NBC) and the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
That team will conduct field inspections, technical assessments and prepare the initial findings. An Executive Committee, led by RMAFC leadership, will provide strategic oversight, coordinate the agencies involved and supervise final approvals before the report is presented for ratification.
Shehu said security agencies would also be engaged to provide necessary clearances and support for field operations, particularly in difficult and coastal areas.
For greater transparency, Surveyors-General from affected states and representatives of the Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream) will participate as observers.
The RMAFC chairman urged committee members to approach the assignment with integrity, objectivity and patriotism, saying its outcome would affect the credibility and stability of revenue distribution.
RMAFC Secretary, Comrade Tosin Adeyanju, similarly urged the members to put national interest first and conduct the exercise with fairness and diligence.
He said lessons from previous verification exercises meant the committee would face heightened scrutiny, expressing confidence that it would produce findings acceptable to the affected states and contribute to a lasting resolution of the disputes.
