Vice President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday met with Governor Emmanuel Udom of Akwa Ibom State following renewed opinions expressed by some Nigerians over onshore/offshore dichotomy.
A committee, headed by Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State on fiscal federalism had recently submitted its report to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on onshore/offshore dichotomy with some far-reaching recommendations that have not gone down well with some stakeholders from the oil-rich region.
The Federal Government has, however, claimed that it had addressed grey areas relating to the sharing of funds from Federation Account allocation to littoral states as it concerns crude oil revenue.
Specifically, the committee had recommended in the report that to promote the unity of the country and ensure that states are more financially empowered to deliver services to their residents, as well as ensure no one feels disadvantaged, the Federal Government should expeditiously review derivation to reflect areas of consensus which are adoption of ‘state control of resources and pay Federal Government’ and upward review of the current formula in favour of states.
It also recommended the adoption of similar derivation formula in favour of solid minerals and power generation.Udom, who spoke with State House Correspondents shortly after his meeting with the Vice President, said it was irresponsible for people who had no business with oil generation in the country to make sweeping statements that could jeopardise the polity.
He said he was bothered about inflammatory statements coming from people who have little knowledge about oil and the economic implications.He said: “The Vice President is the Chairman of the National Economic Council. So, once you see a forward-looking governor coming to have a discussion with him, you know it has to do with the economy.
“I hear people making all kind of comments. At times somebody who doesn’t even understand, who has never seen crude oil before will come and tell you about onshore/offshore. Let those people not just make inflammatory statements that will cause problems.
“But, by and large, it has been a good meeting we discuss the entire economy of the nation. I am also looking forward to a whole lot of happenings within this period because I can see our economy should move much faster. Yesterday, the oil price was well over $73 per barrel, this is a good sign of an economy that should get into a boom very soon.”
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