The Federal Government, through the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), has begun re-verifying disputed and newly drilled oil and gas wells in a move to ensure equitable distribution of the 13% derivation fund among oil-producing states.
The exercise follows the inauguration of a reconstituted Inter-Agency Technical Committee (IATC), announced in a commission statement issued on Saturday, September 19, 2026. The committee is expected to verify disputed and newly drilled oil and gas wells from 2017 to date, with the objective of strengthening fiscal transparency, equitable revenue allocation and institutional integrity in Nigeria. It will also respond to concerns raised by states over the coordinates, boundaries and mapping of oil and gas wells.
RMAFC Chairman Dr. Mohammed Bello Shehu said the work falls within the commission's constitutional mandate to monitor accruals to and disbursement of revenue from the Federation Account. He noted that the commission discarded its previous draft report on the verification exercise following several claims, counterclaims and complaints from various states, which centred largely on the need to re-verify coordinates and accurately plot the verified coordinates on approved maps.
Shehu directed the committee to consider relevant court decisions, rely strictly on approved maps and undertake physical field verification of affected oil and gas wells where necessary. The exercise is therefore expected to provide a fresh technical basis for determining which wells qualify for consideration in the derivation revenue allocation process.
To improve efficiency and accountability, the RMAFC established a two-tier governance structure that separates technical verification and field activities from strategic oversight and final approval.
- The first tier comprises technical officers and subject-matter experts from RMAFC, the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation (OSGoF), the National Boundary Commission (NBC) and the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (NUPRC). The technical team will handle ground-level verification, field inspections, technical analysis and initial report drafting. - The second tier is the Executive Committee, led by the commission's leadership, which will provide strategic direction, ensure inter-agency coordination and oversee final approvals.
