The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has inaugurated a reconstituted Inter-Agency Technical Committee (IATC) to verify the coordinates of disputed and newly drilled oil and gas wells from 2017 to date.
The exercise is aimed at strengthening fiscal transparency, improving revenue monitoring and ensuring equitable allocation of oil and gas revenues among producing states.
Inaugurating the committee RMAFC Chairman, Dr Mohammed Bello Shehu, said the exercise was part of the Commission’s constitutional responsibility to monitor accruals to and disbursement of revenue from the Federation Account.
He said accurate verification of the wells was particularly important in determining the equitable distribution of the 13 per cent derivation fund to oil and gas-producing states.
Shehu disclosed that the Commission had discarded the previous draft report on the verification exercise following claims, counterclaims and complaints raised by various states.
According to him, the major concerns centred on the need to re-verify the coordinates of disputed and newly drilled wells and accurately plot the verified coordinates on approved maps.
He charged the reconstituted committee to ensure that all verified coordinates, maps and boundaries reflect the actual situation on the ground.
The RMAFC chairman also directed the committee to take relevant court decisions into consideration, rely strictly on approved maps and conduct physical field verification of affected oil and gas wells where necessary.
To ensure efficiency and accountability, Shehu said the Commission had established a two-tier governance structure for the exercise.
The first tier comprises technical officers and subject-matter 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).
The body is expected to undertake field verification, technical inspections, analysis and preparation of the initial report.
The second tier, described as the Executive Committee, will be led by the leadership of RMAFC and will provide strategic direction, coordinate the participating agencies and oversee final approvals before the findings are presented for formal ratification.
Shehu said RMAFC would provide the committee with the necessary institutional support, including liaison with security authorities to secure administrative clearances, tactical assistance and security coverage for field operations, particularly in complex and coastal areas.
He added that Surveyors-General from affected states and representatives of the Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream) would participate as observers to enhance transparency in the process.
The RMAFC chairman urged members of the committee to discharge their responsibilities with integrity, objectivity and patriotism, saying the exercise was designed to promote clarity, fairness and stability in the allocation of oil and gas revenues.
He expressed confidence that the exercise would help resolve longstanding disputes over oil and gas wells among beneficiary states and strengthen the credibility of Nigeria’s revenue monitoring and allocation system.
Also speaking, the Secretary of the Commission, Comrade Tosin Adeyanju, urged members to put the national interest first and approach the assignment with fairness, diligence and objectivity.
Adeyanju said the committee’s work would attract greater scrutiny because of lessons from previous verification exercises, expressing optimism that it would produce a credible outcome that would command the confidence of the affected states and the country.
The inauguration was attended by the Chairman of the Crude Oil Monitoring Committee and Federal Commissioner representing Kano State, Hon. Adamu Abdu Fanda, as well as Federal Commissioners representing Osun, Edo, Yobe, Taraba, Zamfara, Jigawa and Ogun states.
