A crisis appears to be brewing over the ownership of the Kolmani oil and gas field as both Bauchi and Gombe state governments have started laying claims to the oil wells.
Officials and residents of the two states have also accused each other of attempting to appropriate the site which contains one billion barrels of crude oil reserves and 500 billion standard cubic feet of gas, The Punch reports.
The development is coming barely two weeks after the President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated oil exploration at the Kolmani oil field by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPC) and its joint venture partners.
Kolmani, which is located in between Bauchi and Gombe states, has oil in commercial quantities with Oil Prospecting Licences (OPLs) 809 and 810, cutting across Kolmani one, two, three, four and five.
Buhari, while speaking during the event, disclosed that the project has attracted over $3 billion investments so far.
The president said that, “We are pleased with the current discovery of over 1 billion barrels of oil reserves and 500 billion cubic feet of gas within the Kolmani area and the huge potential for more deposits as we intensify exploration efforts.
“It is, therefore, to the credit of this administration that at a time when there is near zero appetite for investment in fossil energy, coupled with the location challenges, we are able to attract investment of over $3 billion to this project,” he added.
Buhari noted that the governors of Bauchi and Gombe states had given assurances of their unwavering commitment and willingness to ensure support and cooperation in the localities.
However, the governors’ assurances seemed to have been forgotten as the two states declared that they were the rightful owners of the oil-rich field.
While insisting on Gombe’s ownership of the contentious Kolmani field, the special adviser to Gombe state governor on information management and strategy, Ahmed Gara-Gombe, blamed the boundary commission for the controversy.
He stated that, “The truth of the matter is that the Kolmani oil well is in Gombe state. Precisely in Akko local government, Pindiga emirate, Tai district, Kaltanga Mamuda ward.
“It has nothing to do with Bauchi state or Alkaleri local government.
“If putting the records straight is what is seen as a crisis, so be it.
“The National Boundary Commission (NBC) and NNPC are hypocrites in this matter, they know the truth and they should come out clean,” he added.
According to Gara-Gombe, the solution is to give Gombe state what belongs to it, adding that, “Kolmani One is in Bauchi state in Alkeleri, let them go and explore that one. However, four oil wells are in Gombe.
“Again, we need an independent jury to determine and verify our claims.
“Our people whose land was dubiously taken in the name of access road and were paid between N64,000 to N117,000 as compensation by the NNPC must be paid appropriately.
“NNPC must go to Gombe side and also construct a road like they did on the Bauchi side.
“Besides, Pindiga (Gombe) to Kolmani is shorter and friendly terrain than the Bauchi (side) which is longer and an unfriendly terrain,’’ he added.
A lawyer, Abdullahi Inuwa, while echoing the governor’s aide, explained that their grouse was not with the federal government but the NNPC, noting that the president was misguided on the true owners of the land.
He stated that, “We did not accuse the federal government directly but our accusation points at the NNPC.
“We are accusing the NNPC for trying to create a smokescreen by portraying the fact that Kolmani is in Bauchi, while Kolmani is in Gombe.
“There is a village head of Kolmani, who is answerable to the district head, who is also answerable to the Pindiga emirate under the Akko local government.
“Our position is that Kolmani is in Gombe, not in Bauchi.
‘’The federal government or the president has been misled by the NNPC especially the highest ranking officers of the NNPC that are of Bauchi state origin,” Inuwa added.
Inuwa gave the assurance that the contention would not degenerate into violence, noting that they were ready for dialogue.
He said that, “We have heard about the challenges in the Niger Delta but sadly in this case it is the government through the NNPC’s selfish interest that is trying to create problems and disharmony.
‘’Some of us have parents who hailed from the other side, Bauchi side so we are one. NNPC’s senior officers should remember the oath of allegiance, and they are first from Nigeria before considering themselves as indigenes of Bauchi state,’’ the lawyer added.
Muhammad Bako, the member representing Pali constituency in the Bauchi state house of assembly where the area is situated, while reacting to Gombe’s claims over the oil field, stressed that the area belonged to Bauchi.
The lawmaker said that the oil was first discovered when Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was a minister.
Bako argued, “This oil field was first discovered when Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was the minister of works; that was when the history of this oil started.
“Then, during the regime of the late General Sani Abacha, he started drilling the oil at Barumbu before he died.
“When Olusegun Obasanjo came in, the oil well was blocked, and the issue was no longer talked about.
“So, when Buhari came, he started the drilling again. In fact, the boundary between Bauchi and Gombe and these oil wells is up to 20 kilometers,” he stated.
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