Governor Willie Obiano has said that Anambra State will begin to earn 13 per cent derivation in line with its status as an oil-producing state, from March.
Mr Obiano disclosed this while answering questions from reporters in Aguleri, Anambra East Local Government Area, after a tour of the Awka International Convention Centre and Anambra Cargo and passenger airport on Saturday.
He said he was notified by the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Pricing and Regulatory Agency (NMDPRA) which confirmed to him that crude oil was being lifted in commercial quantity in Anambra.
He said there are 15 oil wells in Anambra, with the Eniye 10940 Oil field operated by SEEPCO fully operational and wholly owned by the state.
Mr Obiano also said the rice production of the state had hit 530,000 metric tonnes yearly from the 85,000 metric tonnes capacity of 2014.
He said the revolution his administration brought into the agricultural sector made the state become not only self-sufficient in production but a net exporter of the commodity.
He said the state demand was just about 330,000 metric tonnes of the total output, noting that a lot of investment has been made in the sector and that many family economies had been transformed by the boom.
He said the Anambra airport which has become operational would boost trade and commerce as well as export capacities of the state.
Mr Obiano said the 10,000 capacity International Convention Centre would be inaugurated on March 9.
The governor, who said he would not be going for any political office, announced that his wife, Ebelechuwku, would be contesting the senatorial election for Anambra North District.
(NAN)
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