The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has formally debunked reports claiming that a decision has been made to transfer or cede disputed crude oil and gas wells to any specific state.
In a statement released on Sunday, February 15, 2026, the Chairman of the Commission, Dr. Mohammed Bello Shehu, described such circulating media reports as misleading and premature. He clarified that while an inter-agency committee has been working on verifying coordinates, the commission has not finalized any recommendations for presidential consideration.
The controversy follows the submission of a draft report by the Inter-Agency Committee on the Verification of Coordinates of Disputed Crude Oil and Gas Wells on February 13. Dr. Shehu emphasized that this document is currently undergoing institutional review and has been sent to key technical stakeholders, including the National Boundary Commission (NBC) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), for detailed observations.
Only after this feedback is processed and scrutinized by internal committees will a final report be presented to the commission’s plenary for deliberation.
The ongoing exercise aims to resolve long-standing ownership disputes and ensure that the 13% derivation fund is distributed fairly among oil-producing states. Between January 26 and 30, 2026, the commission conducted a major exercise to plot verified coordinates of disputed and newly drilled wells, involving representatives from states such as Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Rivers, and Delta.
This technical phase is intended to replace speculative claims with digital accuracy, though the final attribution of these wells remains pending until constitutional and legal protocols are fully met.
RMAFC has urged the public and stakeholders to disregard any speculative reports regarding the “ceding” of wells and to await official communication once the statutory review process is complete.
The commission reaffirmed its role as an unbiased umpire, noting that the final report must be formally transmitted to the President and the Attorney-General of the Federation before any changes to revenue allocation can take effect. Until that time, the current status of all disputed assets remains unchanged.
 has formally debunked reports claiming that a decision has been made to transfer or cede disputed crude oil and gas wells to any specific state.){kind=link}