With the last week's Supreme Court judgment that ceded all the 76 oil wells to Akwa Ibom State, Cross River State can no longer enjoy the benefits that are accrual to oil producing states, the Chairman Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has said. Engineer Elias Mbam told Daily Trust in an interview that the Commission is awaiting directives from the Ministry of Justice to effect the execution of the court judgment.
Mbam said: "I heard about the judgment in the media. We do not act base on news from the newspaper, we are not duly informed. I don't have the details of the judgment.
"But if what I read in the newspapers is anything to go by, I will say that if there are no oil wells, you cannot enjoy the benefits of oil producing states. I have not read the judgment and until I read it I may not be in the position to clearly state anything."
Asked if the commission is waiting for directives from the Ministry of Justice before implementing the decision of the court, Mbam said, "That is correct. They will notify us of the judgment and then we act accordingly."
The benefits that oil producing states enjoy include the 13 percent derivation principle and projects execute by the Niger Delta Development Commission.
Daily Trust