The main well is in Kogi State – Deputy gov

What was your mission to Anambra State during the commissioning of Orient refinery in Aguleri, Otu? I was in Anambra to represent the Kogi State governor Idris Wada who was invited by Orient Petroleum Company to come and be part of the event that was attended by President Goodluck Jonathan. We were invited because Kogi […]

What was your mission to Anambra State during the commissioning of Orient refinery in Aguleri, Otu?

I was in Anambra to represent the Kogi State governor Idris Wada who was invited by Orient Petroleum Company to come and be part of the event that was attended by President Goodluck Jonathan. We were invited because Kogi State is a major stakeholder in that enterprise, hence we have to be there to represent the state and its interest.

What are the interests and the stake of Kogi in the company?

As you know, Orient is operating on OPL 915 and this oil field straddles several states including Kogi and one of the oil well which have been explored and capped by ELF that has now been re-develop by Orient is actually in Ibaji Local government of Kogi State. So on the stretch of that, we felt it was only reasonable as a government that is concerned about the welfare of the people and actively participating in encouraging private investors to come into state, to felicitate with Orient on their success story.

Don’t you think the oil wells have been conceded to Anambra state by the statement from the federal government that has joined the leagues of oil producing state?

I don’t see how one can make that extension. The oil well is in Anambra River Basin; it is a very large expanse of reserve underground with an overlay of several states on that basin and even that basin has been divided into several OPL, Orient has 915 and 916. Now one of the well is in Kogi State and you can drill as many holes as you want in this basin; and for every hole you drill there is a well. We know that there was a well that was drill by ELF years ago and capped, which it called Obisi 1. But ELF now left that concession because it felt it was not viable and Orient now applied to DPR and they were allocated that concession and they developed it and named it Anambra River 1. As far as their operation is concerned they named it as such but that still does not mean that the mere fact that Orient has found oil in Anambra, has exclude Kogi state claim of being a member of the river basin that has oil as a commodity.

Does that foreclose the controversy over the oil wells between Kogi and Anambra?

There are talks going on and long before the issue of this oil well, there was a matter that was brought to the attention of the National Boundary Commission as it relates to communal clashes between Kogi and Anambra communities around that area. So you can now imagine with oil now thrown into the mix effort will now be stepped up to resolve it. I can tell you that both states, well I want to speak for Kogi state, we have absolute fate in the Nigeria Boundary Commission to do the right thing as far as delineating our boundary with Anambra is concerned. In fact, in that area, all the three states, Kogi Anambra and Enugu are all laying claim to one part of it or the other. But for us, we are all Nigeria, the oil underground spread definitely beyond the boundary of those states and what we need to do is to prospect it. But we have the good fortune of knowing that the one that is producing now happened to come from Ibaji local government area of Kogi state, next would be Odeke village also in the same local government.

In a letter to your office recently, the committee on oil activities in Ibaji land accused Orient of trying to re-draw the boundary between the affected states by alleging that two of the oil wells are in Anambra and Enugu states. As the chairman of the state boundary committee, how will you react to this?

Let me educate you on that. Though I am not aware of that report but I need to say certain thing, that oil we are talking about was first developed by ELF and when they were to access the oil well years ago as is the standard practice, they have to pay compensation to the villages that were around there as prelude to the commencement of work. I can assure you that the communities that were paid compensation were Kogi base communities and I am not sure that there has been any re-delineation of border line since then. It is just a matter of making sure that necessary documents are checked to further prove that the genesis of that oil well resided in Kogi State in terms of compensation and to even access it.

You said oil wells spread across the three states; what is the probability that Kogi state can tap from the wells?

Kogi State cannot tap from the same oil and for us to tap from it, we have to apply to the DPR for license, look for investors to develop it. It is not like drilling borehole; it is a complex operation and oil is the exclusive right and can only be controlled by the federal government.

What is your advice to the people on the ongoing controversy as the chairman state boundary committee?

Let me be very frank,  being a member of oil producing state, the benefit is directly proportional to the quantum of oil that is derived from your own portion of the mix. What Orient is producing now is very small and if all that well exclusively belong to us in terms of location, what we would be getting today is next to nothing. So we need to create an enabling environment for more companies to come to the Kogi part of the river basin to explore oil so that may be at the end of the day, we would have a company that is producing oil every day.