The Cross River State government claims legitimate ownership of 67 out of the 76 oil wells ceded to Akwa Ibom State by the Supreme Court.

State Information Commissioner Dr Erasmus Ekpang disclosed this in a statement in Calabar.

Dr Ekpang’s statement follows a recent claim by Akwa Ibom State Attorney General Uko Udom, SAN, who said the controversy had been resolved by two Supreme Court judgments in 2005 and 2012, affirming that the disputed wells are within the 200-metre isobath and contiguous to Akwa Ibom State.

However, Dr Ekpang stated that the Cross River State government recently engaged relevant authorities, which discovered several oil wells belonging to it.

“The attention of His Excellency, Sen. Prince Bassey Edet Out, the Governor of Cross River State, was drawn to the fact that several oil wells, in OML 114 and 123 oil fields, were indeed within Cross River State’s maritime boundary and for which it derived no revenue whatsoever.

“As a responsible leader, His Excellency, Governor Out, engaged the relevant authority, namely the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, on this revelation.

“Upon receipt of Cross River State’s complaint, an inter-agency committee, comprising the Office of the Surveyor General of the Federation, National Boundary Commission, and Nigeria Upstream Regulatory Commission, was constituted with Surveyors-General of Abia, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Cross River, and other oil-producing states as observers to determine the veracity of Cross River State’s claim.

“In May 2024, the committee carried out its mandate by plotting the maritime boundary of Cross River State using the nation’s Administrative Map 11th Edition, as well as the 2004 Well Dichotomy Study Map, and thereafter geolocated the oil wells found therein.

“At the end of the exercise, sixty-seven (67) oil wells were found to be within the maritime boundary of Cross River State,” the commissioner said.

He further explained that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivered its judgment in 2002, ceding the southern portion of the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon, leaving out Western Bakassi in Nigeria.

The clear Implication, he said, is that Western Bakassi remains in Cross River State and in Nigeria.

He emphasised that this response shall serve as the only response on this issue by the Cross River State government. (Daily Sun)