A communication scholar, Udeme Nana, has warned that Akwa Ibom State may be underestimating what he described as Cross River State’s “calculated” strategy in the renewed dispute over offshore oil wells and derivation payments.
Mr Nana, a lecturer at Akwa Ibom State Polytechnic and former spokesperson to the then Governor Victor Attah, made the remarks in a Facebook post amid rising tension between the two neighbouring states.
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“The present dispute between the two sister states of Akwa Ibom and Cross River about crude oil wells and payment of derivation is not, with all due respect, correctly understood by Akwa Ibom State,” he wrote.
He described Cross River’s position as “a reflection of intellectual rigour, very well calculated, very well presented and is like the ‘poisoned pawn’ in the game of Chess.”
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Mr Nana suggested the dispute might extend beyond the long-settled Supreme Court ruling on the 76 oil wells.
“I don’t think it’s really about the 76 oil wells which the Supreme Court had settled,” he said.
Akwa Ibom insists no oil well ceded
Akwa Ibom authorities have repeatedly dismissed claims that any of its oil wells could be transferred to Cross River.
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The Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Uko Udom, said reports of possible reallocation stemmed from a misinterpretation of a draft report submitted by a federal government inter-agency committee to the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).
“The commission has described the circulating claims as speculative and not reflective of any final position,” Mr Udom said earlier.
He maintained that two Supreme Court judgements had conclusively settled the dispute and remained binding under Section 235 of the Constitution.
“The legal position, therefore, stands firmly established,” he said, adding, “No inter-agency committee, no technical panel, and no institutional process can alter, amend, reinterpret, or sit in appeal over a judgment of the Supreme Court.”
He declared, “No oil well has been ceded. No Supreme Court judgement has been overturned. No constitutional provision has been amended.”
Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom also urged residents to remain calm, insisting the state’s ownership of the oil wells was backed by law.
“There are two Supreme Court judgements that give Akwa Ibom State the right to those oil wells. We are not sharing maritime boundaries with Cross River State but with the Republic of Cameroon, and the Nigerian Supreme Court has said so twice to establish this fact,” the governor said.
He added, “There is no cause for alarm… this propaganda has no effect in the face of the two Supreme Court decisions establishing our ownership of the oil wells. This is not about sentiments.”
Cross River insists on ‘fairness’
Cross River State Governor Bassey Otu, however, maintained that his state should not suffer economic disadvantage following the ceding of the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon.
“The ceding of part of Bakassi was for the peace of the country. It was not for Cross River State to lose its oil wells. We are full-fledged Nigerians. Nobody can deny us our rights, and that time has come,” Mr Otu said.
Ex-senator raises alarm
The latest warning from Mr Nana comes shortly after a former senator and African Democratic Congress (ADC) leader in Akwa Ibom, John Akpanudoedehe, publicly cautioned Governor Eno over the controversy.
“Before now, a lot of people in our polity, those who are alive and those who are dead, worked so hard in terms of resource control for the general interest of the Niger Delta,” Mr Akpanudoedehe said in a video message.
He alleged compromise in the federal committee process, stating, “Now you’ve allowed the committee that I am very sure has been compromised by any standard to reach a conclusion against the Akwa Ibom people.”
He warned: “If you allow these 76 oil wells to be taken away from us… I want to tell you that you’ll not be forgiven.”
READ ALSO: Akwa Ibom’s Paradox: Luxury SUVs for ex-officials while pupils sit on floors
Background
The oil wells dispute between Akwa Ibom and Cross River dates back decades and is rooted in boundary interpretations following Nigeria’s implementation of the 2002 International Court of Justice judgement that ceded the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon.
While Akwa Ibom insists Supreme Court rulings in 2005 and 2012 removed Cross River’s littoral status and settled the matter, Cross River continues to press claims rooted in equity and economic rights, keeping the politically sensitive controversy alive.
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