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LONDON, United Kingdom - Kirkuk Governor Najmadin Karim says that a future Kirkuk administered by Baghdad is a disaster, after the province has been subjected to an unpaid budget since 2014, lack of local authority over oil and the local police.
He made the remarks to the annual Kurdistan Oil and Gas conference in London.
Kirkuk holds some 10 percent of Iraq’s total oil reserves, estimated at 140 billion barrels.
Karim told Rudaw that Baghdad owes Kirkuk $1.5 billion of unpaid petrodollar money since 2013, which the government received for every exported barrel from Kirkuk's oil fields.
Kirkuk has not received any budget for daily operations since 2014, he said.
A tentative agreement in December 2014 which led to the formation of Iraq’s new cabinet gave the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) rights to partly export oil from Kirkuk province, which is currently under Peshmerga control.
The KRG pays Kirkuk $10 million in petrodollar payments every month, Karim said, "That is 10 million more than Baghdad, because Baghdad pays zero."
Iraq’s army abandoned the city in June 2014 in the aftermath of an ISIS offensive across northern parts of the country.
Peshmerga forces entered Kirkuk province later the same month and have remained there since.
Karim also complained that Kirkuk's local government does not have a say over the appointment of the head of security forces, a major concern for the city since it has came under attacks launched by the so-called Islamic State, the latest of which was the deadly attacks in late October which led to the deaths of more than 100, many of them from the security forces.
Kirkuk police have lost about 3,000 officers in the war on terror since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, but the Iraqi government has not employed a single police officer to fill the gap since 2008.
"I think remaining with Baghdad is a disaster for the people of Kirkuk, and we can see that everyday happening actually." Karim stated, "That is why we thought maybe the best solution for now, an interim solution, you know, for a transitional period of time, to make Kirkuk a region."
He said this new region, which can further be divided into sub-regions, may help to prevent future tensions between Erbil and Baghdad over the issue of Kirkuk
"I think that is something that can help the people of Kirkuk, It will help prevent future, even unpleasant situations that may arise between the Baghdad government and the KRG with regard to the future of Kirkuk.
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