Anambra Govt Clears Air on Receipt of 13% Oil Derivative

David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka

Anambra State Government has clarified the news of the receipt of its first 13 per cent oil revenue, as an oil-producing state in the country.

There had been news of the receipt of over N100 billion by the state government as its share of the oil derivative, but the state government has said the news of the receipt of the fund is true, but debunked the humongous sum of money.

In a statement signed by the state Commissioner for Finance, Mr.  Ifeatu Onejeme, which was made available to THISDAY in Awka, the commissioner said the state received N268million as its first oil derivative fund for July this year.

In the statement, Onejeme said: “The attention of the Anambra State Government has been drawn by well-meaning Ndi-Anambra and fellow Nigerians to several false and misleading stories circulating on some social and online media platforms about the 13 percent Oil Mineral Derivation Revenue received by Anambra State.

“This statement is deemed necessary in the public interest, in the spirit of full disclosure and in line with our principle of transparency to address the deliberate misinformation and provide Ndi-Anambra and the general public with the correct state of affairs.”

He said the receipt of the fund was made possible by several years of work by industry experts in the state, spanning previous administration.

According to him, “Following a decade of hard work by industry experts from Anambra State in collaboration with past administrations, the state was officially recognised as a petroleum-bearing and oil-producing state on July 27, 2021.

“The current administration of Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo took up the mantle from there with massive follow up and collaborative initiatives with relevant federal government agencies to achieve the eventual implementation of the decision.

“Anambra State officially started receiving mineral derivation revenue from the Federation Account in July 2022 with the first net receipt of N268, 232, 939.16.”

The state government, therefore, urged the public to disregard any other information about the amount of mineral derivation revenue received by the Anambra State circulating on the social media, online media or any other medium.