Designate Enugu As Oil-Bearing State, Ugwuanyi Tells FG

 

Designate Enugu As Oil-Bearing State, Ugwuanyi Tells FG
Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi

Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has requested the leadership of the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), to expedite action on the process of formally designating the state as an oil-bearing state in the country.

Governor Ugwuanyi made the request when he received Commissioners and top management team of RMAFC led by the Chairman, Indices and Disbursement Committee, Chris A. Akomas, who paid him a courtesy visit at the Government House, Enugu, on Monday.

Speaking, Governor Ugwuanyi represented by his deputy, Mrs. Cecilia Ezeilo, stated that the request for designation of Enugu as an oil-bearing state became imperative because of the volume of crude oil being harvested from its territory.

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The governor drew the attention of RMAFC to the fact that “Enugu is about the only state in Nigeria which produces crude oil in commercial quantities without being formally accorded the status of an oil-bearing state”.

He pointed out that “years of oil exploration in the Enugu/Anambra/Kogi states joint border corridor have resulted in the successful exploitation of crude oil in the area which includes a large part of Enugu State’s territory”, stressing: “On a desirable allocation formula for the country, Enugu State government, after considering all the relevant factors and parameters, is proposing 50-50 to the three states”.

Ugwuanyi maintained that Enugu had continued to be the political capital and socio-cultural melting pot of the old Eastern Region of Nigeria “now carved into nine states”, stating that the southeast geo-political zone is disadvantaged in terms of infrastructure.