The Federal Government has taken steps to ensure a fairer distribution of the 13 per cent derivation fund among oil-producing states through the re-verification of disputed and newly drilled oil and gas wells.

This followed the inauguration of the reconstituted Inter-Agency Technical Committee by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, according to a press statement released by the Commission on Saturday, September 19, 2026.

The committee has been tasked with verifying disputed and newly drilled oil and gas wells dating from 2017 to date, as part of efforts to deepen fiscal transparency, ensure equitable revenue allocation and strengthen institutional integrity in Nigeria. The exercise is also aimed at resolving concerns raised by states over the coordinates, boundaries and mapping of oil and gas wells.

RMAFC Chairman, Dr Mohammed Bello Shehu, said the exercise aligns with the Commission’s constitutional mandate to monitor accruals to and disbursement of revenue from the Federation Account. He stressed that the verification exercise would help ensure a more equitable distribution of the 13 per cent Derivation Fund among oil and gas-producing states.

Shehu disclosed that the Commission had discarded its previous draft report on the oil and gas wells verification exercise, following a wave of claims, counterclaims and complaints lodged by various states.

He explained that these concerns centred mainly on the need to re-verify the coordinates of disputed and newly drilled wells, and to ensure the verified coordinates are accurately plotted on approved maps.

The reconstituted IATC has been charged with ensuring that every verified coordinate, every map used and every boundary evaluated reflects the actual situation on the ground.

Shehu directed the committee to take relevant court decisions into account, rely strictly on approved maps, and carry out physical field verification of affected oil and gas wells where necessary.

The verification exercise is expected to provide a fresh technical basis for determining which oil and gas wells qualify for consideration in the derivation revenue allocation process.

To boost efficiency and accountability, Shehu revealed that a two-tier governance structure has been put in place for the exercise, designed to separate technical verification and field activities from strategic oversight and final approval.

The first tier is made up of technical officers and subject-matter experts drawn from RMAFC, the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation (OSGoF), the National Boundary Commission (NBC), and the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

This technical team will be responsible for ground-level verification, field inspections, technical analysis and the drafting of initial reports.

The second tier, the Executive Committee, will be led by the Commission’s leadership and will provide strategic direction, ensure coordination among agencies, and oversee final approvals.

Surveyors-General from the affected states, along with representatives of the Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream), will serve as observers to promote transparency in the process.

RMAFC will also extend institutional support to the committee, including engagement with relevant security authorities to facilitate administrative clearances, tactical assistance and security coverage during field operations in complex and coastal environments.

In August, 11 oil-producing states shared N321.90 billion in the first quarter of 2026 under Nigeria’s 13 per cent derivation formula.

A report based on BudgIT Nigeria’s data on 13 per cent oil derivation sharing among the 11 oil-producing states showed that six states in the Niger Delta received nearly 90 per cent of the oil-producing states’ allocation in the three months ended March 31, 2026.

The allocation data, compiled by BudgIT using figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC), revealed a sharp concentration of funds among a handful of states.

The latest re-verification exercise is therefore focused on establishing accurate technical records of disputed and newly drilled oil and gas wells, records that will feed into the process of determining derivation allocations.