Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom and Rivers states have filed a suit at the Supreme
Court against the Federal Government to challenge the loss of N500
trillion in oil revenue.
The plaintiffs are praying the apex court to compel the Federal
Government to implement Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution as it
relates to oil revenue generation and sharing among the component
parts of the federation.
In the originating summons by Luscious Nwosu, SAN on behalf of the
three states, the Supreme Court is being urged to determine whether
there was a statutory obligation imposed on the defendant pursuant to
Section 16 of the Deep Offshore and Inland Basin Production Sharing
Contracts Act Cap D3 of the Laws of the Federation 2004.
The cable reports that they also want the apex court to determine
whether there was a statutory obligation imposed on the Federal
Government to adjust its share in the additional revenue accruing
under the various production sharing contracts approved by the
defendant if the price of crude oil at any time exceeds $20 per
barrel, in real terms, to such extent that the production sharing
contracts shall be economically beneficial to the government of the
federation.
They equally sought a consequential order of the court to compel the
defendant to adjust the share of the government of the federation in
the additional revenue under all the production sharing contracts in
Nigeria’s oil industry within the inland basin and deep offshore areas
as approved by the defendant from the respective terms the price of
crude oil exceeded $20 per barrel.
The plaintiffs also want the Federal Government to be compelled to
calculate in arrears with effect from August 2003 as well as recover
and pay immediately all outstanding statutory allocations due and
payable to them from the said adjustment.
In a 33-paragraph affidavit in support of their originating summons,
the plaintiffs said that they sought to invoke the original
jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to interpret various constitutional
provisions in Sections 80(1), 162(1) of the 1999 Constitution and
Section 16(1) of the Deep Offshore and Inland Basin Production
Contacts Act Cap D3 Laws of the Federation 2004 as it relates to the
fiscal responsibility of the defendant to them.
Justice Bode Rhodes, who led six others, fixed November 14 for hearing
of the suit.