The Bayelsa State Government has reiterated its resolve to protect its land and resources, declaring that it will not allow anyone to take what rightfully belongs to the state.
The Deputy Governor, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, stated this on Thursday during a presentation of the state’s position on disputed oil and gas wells to the Inter-Agency Technical Committee set up by the Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Allocation Commission (RMFAC). The event was held at his office in Government House, Yenagoa.
Ewhrudjakpo, in a statement signed by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Doubara Atasi, described the committee’s assignment as critical, stressing the need for objectivity, fairness, and truthfulness to promote justice and peaceful coexistence between Bayelsa and neighbouring states.
He commended the Chairman and Management of RMFAC for setting up the committee and expressed optimism that its findings would serve as a veritable guide for the Commission’s decision-making.
The Deputy Governor emphasized that while Bayelsa would not lay claim to resources that do not belong to it, the state would defend its God-given assets with all lawful means.
On the disputed Soku Oilfield, Ewhrudjakpo described RMFAC as an agency with institutional memory, expressing hope that it would be guided by its previous decisions and statements regarding the disagreement between Bayelsa and Rivers States.
“On behalf of the Governor, we thank the Chairman of RMFAC for setting up this Inter-Agency Technical Committee to carry out this exercise. I think the last time this was conducted was in 2004 or 2005.
“We’ve been expecting this for a long time, and we’re happy to have you in our state. You will visit all the areas where we have disputes with our neighbours.
“In Bayelsa, we believe in the spirit of complementation, give and take. So, be very objective in your assessment. Whatever you find that is not legal, justiciable, and not ours, we will happily relinquish.
“But we will not allow anybody to take what we strongly believe is ours. We will protect our land and resources. So, you really have to look at everything objectively,” he said.
Making a PowerPoint presentation of the state’s position, the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Nimibofa Ayawei, revealed that Bayelsa currently has 49 onshore and 14 offshore oilfields.
According to him, there are about 13 unplotted oil wells, 12 non-producing fields slated for joint verification, and several disputed fields, including the Soku Oilfield, Biseni Oilfield, Obiafu, Ubie, and Nda-Okwori OML 126 oilfields.
Prof. Ayawei urged the committee to examine the extensive legal and historical evidence at its disposal and to plot the newly identified unplotted oil wells in favour of Bayelsa.
Earlier, the Chairperson of the Inter-Agency Technical Committee, Dr. Khadija Suleiman-Bello, explained that the committee was constituted earlier this year, with members drawn from the National Boundary Commission, the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission.
Dr. Suleiman-Bello, who is the Director of Crude Oil at RMFAC, assured that the committee would carry out its assignment with impartiality in the interest of justice, fairness, and peace.
She led a 16-member delegation, including Dr. Samiu Ayinde of the OSGF and Aisha Musa, a representative of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission.
