Reps back call to declare Kogi, Enugu, Anambra oil producing states

By Joshua Egbodo
Abuja

House Representatives has passed a resolution backing the agitation to give oil producing states status to Kogi, Enugu and Anambra states.
This resolution was a fallout of a motion jointly sponsored by Hons. Emmanuel Egwu, Tony Nwoye and Patrick Asadu.

In their arguments, the lawmakers observed that oil exploration activities begun on the Anambra basin since 2012, and that huge gas deposit in commercial quantity had been discovered in the area which cuts across Eziagulu, Enugwu-Otu,  Nzam, Ezi-Anam, Anaku in Anambra state, Ibaji, Idah-1, Alade-1, Atu-1, Inni-1 in Kogi state and Igga, Ojo and Uzo-Uwani in Enugu state.

“Between 1952 and 1986, three companies, namely Shell BP (now Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC)), ELF (now Total Fina Elf) and Agip Energy had dug 25 exploration wells in this basin, but abandoned them due to the government policy then, that these deposits are to be for strategic reserve.
“Equally aware that OPL 901 and OPL 902 (previously OPL 444) were abandoned in the region to waste despite NNPC/NPDC on their own having carried out seismic activities in the Basin in parts of Kogi, Enugu and Anambra states with the same results” the lawmakers averred in the motion.

The debate, however, turned a little dramatic, when Hon. Herman Hembe argued that boundary adjustment should be the starting point, “since it is possible that a state already captured as an oil producing, could lose the status at the end, and also later denied his earlier support for the raising of an Ad Hoc committee to determine the commercial viability of oil deposits in the affected states”.
His denial brought up tensed debate, compelling Speaker Yakubu Dogara to request a playback of the recordings of the verbatim reporters, after which he cautioned Hembe for slowing down the progress of activities.

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