By James Isaac, Abuja
Senator Benson Agadaga,Bayelsa East who is the Chairman Senate Committee on Oil and Gas,Host Communities has issued a warning to States that benefits from the 13% derivation fund paid to oil producing State to appear before his Committee and explain how the money is utilised,even as the Committee sat for the second adjourned date without the State honouring their invitation.
According to him, since the passage of the PIA act in 2021,his committee is the second among the committees set up by law to oversight the 13% derivation fund by oil producing States,saying that the essence of the money is to make sure that oil-producing Communities also have a fair share of what is coming up from their soil.
Giving an insight, he said that, what the Committe wanted to do was to see revenue increase and to meet the quota approved by OPEC,this would be achieved by taken care of the host Communities in order to do away with their hostilities against the oil companies which will result in maximum crude oil production and maximum revenue for funds.
“The essence of the meeting is not a witch-hunt” he posited, but to take stock and assess how the intervention has been able to help the country produce more oil.
He warned that the committee is going to sit and explore the legal option available to it in order to carry out its mandate.
It would be recalled that ten States benefits from the 13% derivation fund paid to oil producing State, but when called to come and give account on the utilization of the fund, for the second adjourned consecutive date, only Lagos and Abia States showed up, with the other eight neither sending representative nor excusing themselves.
