Akwa Ibom dismisses reports of 76 oil wells cession

Ini Billie, Uyo

The Akwa Ibom State Government has dismissed media reports suggesting that its 76 oil wells have been ceded to Cross River State.

The government maintained that the draft report by a Federal Government Inter-Agency Committee to the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) does not amount to a reallocation of oil wells.

The Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Uko Udom (SAN), alongside Paul Usoro (SAN), the Commissioner for Information, Mr Aniekan Umanah, and the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Ekerete Udoh, stated during a joint media briefing on Monday in Uyo that the two Supreme Court rulings of June 24, 2005, and July 10, 2012, which decided decisively in favour of Akwa Ibom and affirmed the 76 oil wells to the state, remain valid.

Udom stated that, constitutionally, decisions of the Supreme Court of Nigeria are final and cannot be overridden by any court, supervisory body, or administrative committee. He added that even the RMAFC described the claims as speculative and not reflective of any final position.

“Under Section 235 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the decisions of the Supreme Court are final and binding on all authorities and persons throughout the Federation. There is no higher court. There is no supervisory committee. There is no administrative override.

“No inter-agency committee, technical panel, or institutional process can alter, amend, reinterpret, or sit on appeal over a judgment of the Supreme Court. Any action inconsistent with a subsisting judgment of the apex court would be unconstitutional, null, and void.

“All the oil wells in question, whether existing or newly referenced, lie within Akwa Ibom State’s recognised maritime and littoral boundaries based on established hydrographic coordinates and legally enforceable boundary adjudications. Their attribution followed due process and relied on empirical geographic data.

“Let it therefore be clearly stated: no oil well has been ceded, no Supreme Court judgment has been overturned, and no constitutional provision has been amended,” Udom said.

He insisted that the state government would defend its resources and what rightfully belongs to its people, and would continue to protect its economic interests.

Speaking further, Paul Usoro dismissed claims that a Supreme Court ruling can be appealed after 10 years, noting that the apex court acted on the October 10, 2002, judgment of the International Court of Justice on the land and maritime boundary between Nigeria and Cameroon.

Usoro explained that the ICJ ruling altered Cross River State’s coastal status, effectively eliminating its estuarine sector, with the legal implication that the state no longer possesses a seaward boundary.