CROSS RIVER STATE RESTATES CLAIM TO 76 OIL WELLS, REJECTS AKWA IBOM’S “FALSEHOOD”
…Says fresh survey confirms 67 oil wells within state’s maritime boundary
The Cross River State Government has strongly rebutted recent claims by Akwa Ibom State over the disputed 76 oil wells, describing them as “misrepresentations and outright falsehood” aimed at distorting the facts of the long-standing boundary and revenue dispute between the two states.
In a press statement signed by the Commissioner for Information, Dr. Erasmus Ekpang, the Cross River State Government responded to a July 24 press release by Uko Udom, SAN, Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice of Akwa Ibom State, challenging what it described as an attempt to rewrite the historical and legal context of the oil well matter.
“Ordinarily, the Cross River State Government would not join in litigating this matter in the court of public opinion, as our sister state appears eager to do,” the statement read. “However, due to the gravity of the falsehoods being circulated, it is important to restate the facts clearly.”
The statement recalled that the origin of the dispute dates back to the 2002 judgment of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which ceded only the Southern portion of the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon, leaving Western Bakassi within Nigerian territory, and specifically within Cross River State.
Despite the ICJ judgment and the signing of the Green Tree Agreement in 2008, Cross River State said it was deliberately excluded from a crucial retreat in Kano that same year, during which the National Boundary Commission and Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) applied a controversial “technical option” to allocate 76 oil wells in Western Bakassi to Akwa Ibom State.
“It is important to note that Cross River was not invited to the Kano retreat, as there was no boundary dispute with Akwa Ibom prior to August 2008. Yet, the process was manipulated to dispossess Cross River of its rightful claim,” the statement said.
According to the Information Commissioner, Governor Bassey Otu, upon learning in March 2024 that several oil wells in OML 114 and OML 123 lay within Cross River’s maritime boundary, immediately engaged relevant federal agencies to review the matter.
An Inter-Agency Committee was subsequently established by the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission, comprising the Office of the Surveyor General of the Federation, National Boundary Commission, and the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission. Observers included surveyors-general from oil-producing states, including Akwa Ibom.
“In May 2024, this committee used the 11th edition of Nigeria’s Administrative Map and the 2004 Well Dichotomy Study Map to replot the maritime boundaries. The outcome was revealing, sixty-seven (67) oil wells were found to fall clearly within Cross River State’s maritime territory,” the statement revealed.
The Cross River State Government said this “uncomfortable truth” has been deliberately suppressed by Akwa Ibom and challenges the basis of the Supreme Court judgment of 2012, which has since been used to justify Cross River’s exclusion from oil revenue allocations.
The government further confirmed that the Presidency has waded into the matter, calling for both states to engage in consultations and report back. However, it expressed concern that Akwa Ibom’s current posture, as seen in its Attorney General’s press release, shows a clear disregard for the peaceful and consultative process directed by the federal government.
“Cross River State, standing on the biblical injunction that ‘truth crushed to the ground shall surely rise again,’ remains committed to unearthing the truth and correcting the grave injustice done to her,” Dr. Ekpang stated.
The Commissioner concluded by noting that this press statement would serve as the only official response from Cross River State on the matter.
