The Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Dr. Mohammed Bello Shehu, disclosed on Monday that the Federal Government had commenced the plotting of the disputed and newly drilled oil and gas wells across the oil-producing states in the country.
He told journalists that the Inter-Agency Technical Committee (IATC), which was inaugurated by the RMAFC to verify the coordinates of the disputed and newly drilled oil and gas wells, had completed the exercise and the next step is the plotting of the coordinates.
Shehu said: “The Commission inaugurated an Inter-Agency Technical Committee (IATC) which comprises of the National Boundary Commission (NBC), the Office of the Surveyor General of Federation (OSGoF), the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and RMAFC and saddled it with the responsibilities of verifying and plotting coordinates of the disputed and newly drilled oil and gas wells of the affected oil producing states.
“The IATC has verified the coordinates and the next phase is to plot the coordinates which would lead to resolving the location of the disputed oil and gas wells as well as attribute the newly drilled oil and gas wells to the rightful owners”, the chairman added.
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Shehu said the exercise was necessary to ensure that oil-producing states receive their rightful share of revenue in line with the Constitution.
He explained: “The Constitution provides that 13 per cent of revenue from minerals, especially crude oil and gas, should be paid to the states where they are produced, this is why the verification and plotting of coordinates of the new and disputed oil and gas wells is not optional, but a constitutional obligation.”
According to him, the exercise cuts across all oil-producing states, including Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Bayelsa, Ondo, Rivers, Delta, and offshore locations. He observed that disputes often arise whenever new oil fields come on stream, as multiple states may lay claim to them, he however stressed that it is the facts on ground that will reveal who actually owns what, and if ownership has to be shared between states.
To guarantee transparency and credibility, the Chairman disclosed that the Commission undertook extensive fieldwork between September 2025 and January 2026 covering creeks, high seas, and offshore terrains in company of the Surveyors-Generals of the affected state throughout the exercise.
Bello confirmed that the commission went to the field to verify the claims and that where the team could not physically access, deployed were drones to take the coordinates, adding that all data collected are witnessed by representatives of the affected states.
While assuring stakeholders that the Commission will remain impartial throughout the process, Shehu said that the “RMAFC will be an unbiased umpire and will deploy justice, equity, and fairness for which it is known.”
He expressed confidence that the outcome of the exercise would significantly reduce disputes and strengthen trust in the derivation process.
The RMAFC chief commended the Acting Chairman of the Crude Oil Monitoring Committee, Hon. Hakeem Amosu and that of the Gas Monitoring Committee, Hon. Rabiu Garba, for their guidance and support for the committees, which contributed to the completion of the exercise.
Earlier in his address, the Secretary to the Commission, Joseph Nwaze, described the exercise as a result of commitment to duty and healthy inter-agency cooperation, adding that completion of the exercise will reinforce confidence in RMAFC’s role as a neutral institution committed to fairness in revenue administration and fiscal federalism.
In her opening remarks, the commission’s Director, Crude Oil Department, Dr. Khadija Kumo, said the exercise was timely and critical to the future of energy governance in Nigeria. She noted that beyond gross energy flow, attention must now shift to efficiency and the role of oil and gas in supporting the wider economy.
She also commended the technical team and participating states for their collaboration and urged continued engagement to ensure sustainable, data-driven decision-making in the sector.
The Coordinator of the Inter Agency Technical Committee, Prince Folorunsho Aderinwala, commended the Chairman of the Commission for empowering the committee to successfuly carry out the exercise by providing all the necessary support as well as the Committee’s members of the for their commitment during the exercise.
It would be recalled that in October 2025, the Commission Chairman flagged off the verification of the disputed and newly drilled crude oil and gas fields in the Niger Delta region by the Inter Agency and Technical Committee, saying that the exercise is based on the petitions received from governors of Anambra, Delta, Imo, Edo, Ondo and River states to ascertain the rightful ownership and boundaries of some crude oil and gas resources.
