Possibility of C’River returning as oil-producing state — FG report
Elegbede Abiodun
The Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission has formally received the final report of the Federal Government’s Inter-Agency Committee on Nigeria’s oil-producing states, with Cross River State projected to be re-listed as an oil-producing state.
Members of the Federal Government Inter-Agency Technical Committee during the Geophysical Survey
The report was submitted on Friday, February 13, 2026, to RMAFC Chairman Mr Mohammed Shehu by 10 members of the 14-man committee.
According to a statement, the submission follows a rigorous six-month verification exercise conducted from August 2025 to February 2026 and involves nationwide scrutiny of crude oil and gas coordinates from 2017 to 2025.
The committee comprised representatives from RMAFC, the National Boundary Commission (NBC), the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation (OSGoF), the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), the Nigerian Hydrographic Agency, and relevant security agencies.
Its mandate was to determine, scientifically, the precise location of oil and gas assets within Nigeria’s onshore and offshore boundaries.
“Over a six-month period, the team visited more than 12 states, including Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Ondo, Imo, Anambra, Abia and Cross River.
“In the process, they verified over 1,000 new crude oil and gas coordinates based on confirmed onshore and offshore reservoir data.
“Findings from the report indicate that nearly all oil-producing states stand to benefit from new oil well attributions arising from the verified coordinates,” the statement read.
It noted that several longstanding boundary overlaps were resolved, including Rivers–Akwa Ibom, Delta–Edo, Delta–Ondo, Imo–Rivers, Imo–Anambra, and Akwa Ibom–Cross River.
Sources said shared attributions were guided by equity and technical evidence rather than political considerations where geological reservoirs straddled boundaries.
For Cross River, the statement noted that “technical projections in the report place the state in a strong position to regain oil-producing status with more than 100 producing oil wells from verified onshore and offshore reservoir coordinates—particularly from OML 114 located within its maritime territory.
“For the first time since 2008, Cross River is projected to be officially enlisted again as an oil-producing state, a development widely seen as vindication of years of advocacy and scientific revalidation.
“Although Cross River submitted the highest number of surface coordinates—over 245—the implications of the 2012 Supreme Court judgment are expected to retain 76 oil wells in Akwa Ibom State pending further judicial interpretation,” it added.
With the deductions, the statement quoted sources close to the verification process as maintaining that Cross River’s geological evidence was “compelling, empirical and beyond reasonable doubt.”
“The science speaks for itself. The reservoirs do not lie. The coordinates verified clearly establish Cross River’s producing status,” one senior official was quoted as saying.
A fiscal expert in Abuja was also quoted as saying that the exercise “separates administrative attribution from geological reality, and Cross River emerges strongly from that distinction.”
The report also recalls that in May 2024, Cross River had benefited from an earlier Inter-Agency Committee report attributing 67 wells from OML 114 to the state, though implementation did not follow.
The 2025 verification, strengthened with hydrographic and reservoir data, proved decisive in the current review.
RMAFC Chairman Shehu is awaiting President Bola Tinubu’s assent for the implementation of the Inter-Agency Technical Committee recommendations.
On presidential approval, the RMAFC Board of Commissioners will convene a plenary session to approve the operational framework for implementing the new attributions and updating Nigeria’s official list of oil-producing states.
Stakeholders said the development represents not only administrative recognition for Cross River but also “a restoration of economic justice, constitutional equity, and historical truth.”
