The Bayelsa State government has again called on the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) to comply with an order of the Supreme Court over the disputed Soku oil and gas fields, whose ownership is in contention between Bayelsa and Rivers State.
The apex court had a few months ago given an order for proper demarcation of the boundary between Bayelsa and Rivers states as a decisive step to resolve the impasse.
Governor Douye Diri made the call on Thursday during a courtesy call on him by a fact-finding team from the federal agency at the Government House in Yenagoa.
Represented by his Deputy, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, the governor lamented that while the National Boundaries Commission was yet to implement the order, the RMAFC decided to be paying accruals from the disputed Soku oil wells to Rivers State following a later judgement by a lower court on the same issue.
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The Bayelsa helmsman said for the sake of equity and justice, the accruals should be saved in an escrow account pending the final resolution of the matter.
He also recalled that the Bayelsa State government had since secured a judgement against the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), which is yet to be implemented by the Commission.
Governor Diri, who charged the RMAFC to strictly apply the right indices for revenue allocation and distribution, said the commission needed to be more circumspect in taking decisions in respect of revenue disputes between states in the country.
According to him, the present revenue distribution formula does not meet the development needs of Nigeria as a republic with 36 federating units and called on the commission to display integrity and competence in ensuring that the right thing was done.
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