Barring any last minute delay by the federal government, Lagos State will be the fastest state to access the 13 per cent oil derivation fund in less than six months of resumption of exploration activity in the state. Oil-producing states are entitled to 13 per cent derivation fund from the Federation Account.
When the law was passed, several oil producing states had to wait for some months before the initial documentary bottlenecks were cleared.
But in Lagos, it would be recalled that Yinka Folawiyo Petroleum Company Limited, a wholly owned indigenous firm and operator of the OML 113, had on May 3 announced the commencement of crude oil production on the Aje field.
Governor Akinwunmi Ambode disclosed this Tuesday in Lagos at this year’s Annual International Conference and Exhibition of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists.
The governor, represented by the Commissioner for Energy, Wale Olowu, said, “I am pleased to announce that the first export from the Aje oil field has happened. That is not the big deal; the big deal is that Lagos State is anxiously awaiting its first derivation in December. So, in December, we will be collecting our first derivation”.
“We cannot wait to see a lot of oil and gas come under the soil of Lagos because it will help us in the area of employment; it will help us in the area of electricity generation, which we want to do off-grid anyway, and it will also help us in making sure that our revenue continues to be diversified.”
“We reassure all of you stakeholders in the industry of our commitment to provide a safe and secure environment for exploration activities that is consistent with global best practice.”
He disclosed further that the state was also closely monitoring and “getting ready to massively support other Oil Prospecting Licences in Lagos to make sure they can quickly transform to Oil Mining Leases”.
It would be recalled that the Chairman, Indices and Disbursement Committee, Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Alhaji Aliyu Mohammed, said during a recent visit of a delegation of the committee to the Lagos State Government that the verification by the committee and its recommendation would facilitate the disbursement of 13 per cent derivation fund to the state in line with the Nigerian Constitution.
