LAGOS SET TO BECOME AN OIL PRODUCING STATE, TO SHARE OUT OF 13% DERIVATION FUND

Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, Lagos State Governor

Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode yesterday declared that Lagos has officially joined the league of oil producing states in Nigeria, following the discovery of crude oil by Tunde Folawiyo Petroleum Company Limited in Badagry, Lagos.

Ambode made the revelation when the management of the company led by the Group Managing Director, Mr. Tunde Folawiyo, visited him at the Lagos House, Ikeja.

The governor praised the firm for their doggedness to achieve the feat after 25 years of hard work, saying that by the provision of Section 162 (2) of the 1999 Constitution, Lagos has become an oil producing state.

He said: “I want to thank you very much for this and I say it with all conviction because I know that based on Section 162 (2) of the 1999 Constitution, Lagos becomes an oil producing state and by virtue of this, the 13 per cent derivation that is due to oil producing states, Lagos will start to partake from it by your very good gesture.

“So we officially declare Lagos State as an oil producing state. We also notify the Federal Government by this action that we would be sharing out of the 13 per cent derivation. So all we need do is to apply and then we join.”

Ambode added that the feat has not only placed Lagos in the history books as the first state outside the Niger Delta to become an oil producing state, but has also opened up a new page for revenue generation.

“It also means that by the additional revenue that is coming from this action, we would have more resources to provide infrastructure for Lagosians and this is what we want other investors and businessmen to emulate, so that beyond the issue of profit, you are actually creating impact on people without them necessarily knowing that it is actually coming from a venture like this that you have embarked on,” he said.

He said the resilience of the Tunde Folawiyo Petroleum Company, an indigenous firm, has shown the possibilities and opportunities for investors and businessmen willing to commit their resources to boost local production.

“I want to commend what you have done; it’s a sign that you believe so much in Lagos State. I want to congratulate you. I want to showcase you as a very good example of a dogged entrepreneur, as someone who believes in Nigeria because that’s what you epitomise here.”

Folawiyo said the discovery of crude oil in Lagos, which has taken over 25 years to achieve, has gone a long way to show the possibilities achievable if government continues to support to indigenous investors and companies.

He said the company has committed about $400million dollars to achieve the feat, adding that the current status of the oil well has the capacity to produce at least 12,000 barrels daily, with a possibility to increase to 25,000 to 50,000 barrels in the nearest future.

credits: TheNation