Gov. Diri Urges RMAFC, FIRS To Review Extant Revenue Sharing Formula
3 min read
by Our Correspondent
Bayelsa State Government has called on the Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to recalibrate extant formula for sharing revenue in respect of oil and gas production in the country.
Governor Douye Diri made the call on Tuesday, April 12th, while declaring open a two-day stakeholders sensitization forum on the use of natural gas as alternative energy, holding at the Golden Tulip Hotel in Yenagoa, the state capital.
The Governor, who was represented by his Deputy, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, frowned at the present revenue sharing formula, saying it grossly lacks equity and justice for gas producing states like Bayelsa.
In a statement signed by the Senior Special Assistant to the Deputy Governor, Mr Doubara Atasi, Diri lamented that although Bayelsa ranks as the highest gas producing state in the country, it is yet to enjoy full benefits of its huge natural gas endowment.
Governor Diri said gas flaring had been a severe menace that constituted an existential threat to the people and their fundamental right to life in the Niger Delta region.
He pointed out that Bayelsa had continued to make heavy sacrifices to keep the economy of the nation afloat, adding that in many of its communities, the difference between night and day had been obliterated.
While expressing concern over the severe health losses for the people caused by gas flaring, the Bayelsa Chief Executive maintained that the region had lost over $11 billion as estimated economic cost to the menace.
The Governor, however, thanked the Gas Monitoring Committee of the Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) for choosing Bayelsa to host the forum and called on all stakeholders to seize the opportunity to make valuable inputs to better the lot of the state
His words, “Bayelsa State, as we all know, is the leading producer of gas in the country. For this reason, we should be principal stakeholders in the decisions and outcomes of any conversation about the future of gas in the Nigerian economy.
“Gas flaring has been a severe menace in the Niger Delta. It has led to several economic and health losses for our people. And the Federal Government continues to lose potential revenue from gas flares.
“The environmental and socioeconomic impacts of gas flaring have resulted in estimated losses of over $11 billion in Nigeria. Yet Nigeria continues to pay lip-service to the menace of gas flaring and has severally shifted the target date for stopping this misnomer.
“We therefore use this opportunity to again call on RMAFC and the Federal Inland Revenue Service to recalibrate their revenue sharing formulae, especially as it concerns the production of oil and gas.
“It is absurd that while gas is being flared here in Bayelsa, it is another state and the Federal Government that benefiti greatly from the menace we are suffering. Clearly, there is no equity in the present revenue sharing in terms of oil and gas production in Nigeria,” he said
In a keynote address, the Chairman, Gas Monitoring Committee, Hon. Patrick Mgbebu, assured that the Commission would discharge its constitutional responsibility to ensure that the Federal Government executes the commercialization of abundant gas resources in the state.
This, according to Hon. Mgbebu, would go a long way in reducing the incidences of gas flaring being perpetrated by oil companies in their host communities.
He stressed the need for Bayelsa to provide an enabling environment for industrialization, adding that the state stands to benefit a lot if gas is put to more use in industries such as cement, textiles, glass and fertilizer plants.
