The Akwa Ibom State Government has dismissed the renewed controversy surrounding its ownership of 76 offshore oil wells, maintaining that the Supreme Court decision on the issue is final.
In July 2012, the Supreme Court sealed Akwa Ibom’s ownership of the oil wells, dismissing the Cross River State Government’s claims to them.
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However, recent reports attributed to the Cross River State Government suggested that the issue of ownership of the wells would be reviewed and that a political settlement was in the offing.
In its reaction, the Government of Akwa Ibom State is firm that a decision made by the highest court in Nigeria is judgement in rem and cannot neither be appealed nor deliberated further.
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Addressing the issue on Arise News TV Sunday morning, the State Commissioner for Information, Aniekan Umanah, urged the public to disregard any circulating claims or rumours, emphasising that the July 2012 Supreme Court ruling remains final and binding.
“This is a settled matter. The Supreme Court, in July 2012, ruled on this matter and placed a permanent seal on this conversation.
“That is the highest court of the land. Once the Supreme Court gives a ruling, it is final. This is not a matter we should even talk about.
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“This is a matter that Akwa Ibom State did not even take to court. I mean it is sealed,” he argued.
Mr Umanah also took the opportunity to spotlight the progress recorded under Governor Umo Eno’s administration in Akwa Ibom, noting that the ARISE Agenda continues to deliver visible results across various sectors of the state.
He highlighted achievements in education, agriculture, rural development, youth empowerment, security, micro, small and medium enterprises, and road infrastructure, noting that the ARISE Agenda is not just a policy, but a real experience for Akwa Ibom people as its impacts are being felt across the nook and crannies of the state.
He gave further insight into the tourism sector, where Governor Eno is turning a ravine-ravaged community into a one-stop tourism and hospitality resort, the ARISE PARK in Uyo, the Marine Resort in Oron, the 5,000-seater International Convention Centre, and the Ibom Tropicana Hotel project are among indicators of the plans to make the state a tourism hub.
He also harped on the initiatives to sustain the peace enjoyed in the state.
The commissioner described Governor Eno, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, and two other senators from the state’s recent visit to President Bola Tinubu as a strategic move to strengthen ties with the federal government and accelerate the state’s development.
He said discussions during the visit focused on securing federal support for critical infrastructure projects in Akwa Ibom, including the Ibom Deep Seaport and other priority initiatives.
Background
It would be recalled that following discontent over the political solution to the oil wells by then-President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, the Cross Rivers State Government under Liyel Imoke sued the federal government and the Akwa Ibom State Government on grounds that some of the oil wells ceded to her by virtue of the agreement reached at a meeting called by former President Obasanjo in 2006 were not released.
Cross River lost its status as a littoral state after the federal government ceded the oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon in 2008.
The seven justices of the court headed by the outgoing Chief Justice of Nigeria, Dahiru Musdapher, in their ruling, submitted that the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) was right in attributing the oil wells to Akwa Ibom at the inter-agencies meeting.
Before delivering the lead judgement, the court dismissed Cross River’s application, pointing out that the agreement which initially gave the state the rights to the 76 oil wells was frustrated by the handing over of Bakassi to Cameroon.
Olufunmilola Adekeye held that the 13 per cent derivation revenue on the 76 oil wells between Akwa Ibom and Cross River must continue to be attributed to the state that has the maritime territory.
“Cross River State no longer has any maritime boundary,” she said.
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“It is landlocked. The plaintiff, not being a littoral state and not having a maritime boundary, the 76 oil wells, which are the subject matter of the suit, which lie offshore and within a maritime territory, cannot be attributed to it.
“The plaintiff has no maritime territory since the cessation of Bakassi Peninsula, and the Cross River estuary, which used to be part of the state prior to August 2008. The present position of the plaintiff cannot be blamed on any government agency, particularly the National Boundary Commission and the RMAFC. The two statutory bodies must perform their statutory duties based on facts and realities to compile the indices for the payment of the derivation revenues to entitled states,” she said.
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