(Ecofin Agency) - Lagos state has been officially declared an oil producing state in Nigeria after Niger Delta.

This is coming after Yinka Folawiyo Petroleum Company Limited discovered crude oil in Badagry, Lagos state.

According to the Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode (photo), by the provision of Section 162 Sub-Section 2 of the Nigeria Constitution, the state is now officially among the League of Oil Producing States in the country.

“I say it with all conviction, Lagos becomes an oil producing state and by virtue of this, the 13% derivation that is due to oil producing states, Lagos will start to partake from it by your very good gesture. So we officially declare Lagos State as an oil producing state. We also notify the Federal Government by this action that we would be sharing out of the 13% derivation,” he said.

Ambode commended the company for its determination in achieving the deed after 25 years of hard work. He said the feat has not only placed Lagos as the first state outside the Niger Delta to become an oil producing State, but has also opened up a new page for revenue generation.

The Governor added that this success has presented the possibilities and opportunities for investors and businessmen eager to commit their resources to increase local production.

“This discovery is by a 100% indigenous firm and at times like this when we are experiencing dwindling revenue from different areas of our economy; at times like this when foreign exchange is highly turbulent, it gives one great hope that the future prosperity of Nigeria is assured and is secured by transactions like this. I will like to let you know that we have three senatorial zones in Lagos; from the Lagos West axis, we have crude oil coming out of it, from the Lagos East axis, we have the petrochemical refinery factory coming from the Lagos Free Trade Zone by the Dangote Group, which will come on board by 2018, and from the Lagos Central axis, it’s the financial district of Nigeria,”, he explained.

For its part, the Yinka Folawiyo Petroleum Company says it has invested about $400 million to achieve the deed.The company said the oil well has the capacity to produce no less than 12,000 bpd, with a chance to increase to between 25,000 and 50,000 bpd in the future, Today news reports.

Anita Fatunji