The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has instructed the committee on Petroleum (Upstream) to investigate the contention over the ownership of oil wells by three States, Anambra, Kogi, and Enugu, in a move similar to what former President, Goodluck Jonathan, tried to do in 2012. Also, the argument has culminated in disagreements over the oil-producing status of Anambra state.
Trouble started in the Senate chamber after Chukwuka Utazi of (Enugu) informed his colleagues that an appointee of Anambra State, Mike Emuh, announced in a national daily that the state is an oil-producing state.
Mr. Emuh, who is the National Chairman of Host Communities Producing Oil and Gas, HOSCON, had told traditional rulers in the state that the federal government has approved 10 modular refineries in the 11 oil producing states in the country, and one of those refineries would be cited in Anambra.
Mr. Emuh further said the federal government also approved the employment of 10,000 youth from oil-producing states, of which 1,000 are to be employed in Anambra State. He added that he was in the state to ask the traditional rulers to nominate a particular place the modular refinery would be cited in the state and to prepare for the selection of the youth to be employed.
The government of President Jonathan Goodluck, on 30th of August 2012, recognized Anambra as an oil-producing state. As a result of that violent protests was said to have erupted in Kogi and Enugu states, two states which lay claim to the Oil wells OPL 915, 916 and 917.
The Government had to call for a meeting on the 31st of October 2012 to resolve this issue and the then governor of Anambra state, Peter Obi, that of Kogi State, Governor Idris Wada and the deputy of Governor of Enugu State attended.
Senator Utazi claims that “After looking at the issue that concerns this ownership on this oil field, they decided to withdraw the declaration already made and ordered the National Boundary Commission to wade into this issue and find out actually who owns what, and since then the NBC has been handling this matter.”
Oil producing States in Nigeria
Akwa Ibom, Delta, Rivers, and Bayelsa States produce 90.1% of Nigeria’s total crude oil. Oil wells in Cross River were ceded to Akwa Ibom after Cameroon took over Bakassi. 13% Derivation is the amount of monthly revenue allocated to each oil-producing state based on the volume of crude oil produced. It is 13% of total revenue generated.
The acknowledged oil-producing states in the country as at 2017 are (first to last):
- Akwa Ibom – 504,000 barrels per day
- Delta – 346,000 bpd
- Rivers – 344,000 bpd
- Bayelsa – 290,000 bpd
- Ondo – 60,000 bpd
- Lagos – 40,000 bpd
- Edo – 33,000 bpd
- Imo – 17, 000 bpd
- Abia – 11,000 bpd
A senator from Anambra State, Andy Uba, however, challenged the claim that Anambra State is not an oil producing state, stating that in the 7th Assembly, the debate was brought up and a consensus was reached that Anambra State met the requirements to be regarded as an oil producing State. His words in part:
“If you recall in 2013, those that were here in the 7th Senate, I moved the motion for Anambra to be included in the oil producing state and then the issue was that every state that wants to be included must produce 120,000 barrels of oil before they would be included and Anambra has attained that.”
