… Assures fairness as Edo, others stake claim to 13% derivation

ABUJA: Edo State is set to gain clarity on its oil and gas entitlements as the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has vowed to apply fairness, equity and justice in resolving long-standing disputes over the location of oil and gas wells affecting the state and other producers.

The assurance came on Monday in Abuja from the Chairman of the commission, Dr Mohammed Shehu, during a briefing on the ongoing verification and plotting of coordinates for disputed and newly drilled oil and gas wells, a process that directly determines states eligible for the constitutionally guaranteed 13 percent derivation fund.

Edo is among the oil-producing states affected by the exercise, alongside Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Bayelsa, Ondo, Rivers and Delta, as well as some offshore locations.

The outcome is expected to have significant fiscal implications for Edo, particularly in the allocation of revenue from crude oil and gas production.

Dr Shehu said the commission would act as an impartial arbiter, stressing that no state would be favoured in the process.

He urged Edo and other affected states to actively participate in the coordinate-plotting exercise to ensure transparency and broad acceptance of the final outcome.

“I want to assure the affected parties that the commission will be an unbiased umpire and will deploy justice, equity and fairness for which it is known,” he said.

He explained that the verification exercise was a constitutional requirement designed to establish the rightful beneficiaries of the 13 per cent derivation, especially as new oil fields come on stream or where ownership is disputed.

According to him, the process followed a formal request by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) for RMAFC to verify the coordinates of new and disputed oil wells.

This led to the inauguration of an Inter-Agency Technical Committee in July 2025, involving the NUPRC, the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation and the National Boundary Commission.

Fieldwork was conducted between September and October 2025, during which surveyors-general from oil-producing states, including Edo, participated as witnesses.

The technical team reportedly visited creeks, offshore locations and high seas to take verified coordinates.

Dr Shehu disclosed that reports from the field exercise had been submitted and that plotting of the coordinates would commence shortly, a process expected to last about five days. Advanced equipment, including drones, will be deployed to access difficult terrain, while data analysis will be carried out in the presence of representatives of the affected states.

He noted that although claims and counterclaims were natural, no state was currently in open conflict, adding that where oil fields straddled boundaries, resources could be shared based on verified facts.