…. Say Supreme Court ruling at risk as RMAFC reviews disputed wells
Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — Akwa Ibom indigenes in Abuja have protested at the venue of a Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, RMAFC, meeting, warning against any attempt to reallocate the state’s 76 offshore oil wells to Cross River State, a move they argue would violate a Supreme Court ruling.
The demonstration coincided with the sitting of the Inter-Agency Technical Committee, IATC, on Disputed and Newly Drilled Oil Wells, which is conducting a nationwide mapping exercise to verify the coordinates of oil and gas assets.
“The ownership of these wells was conclusively determined in our favour by the Supreme Court in 2012. No individual or agency should attempt to tamper with them,” said one of the protesters.
“Reopening this matter would disregard the authority of the apex court and could undermine peace in the Niger Delta,” another protester said.
Akwa Ibom State’s high-powered delegation, present at the IATC meeting, included Senior Advocates of Nigeria Paul Usoro, Assam Assam, Uko Udom, Uwemedimo Nwoko, Emmanuel Enoidem, and former state Attorney-General Ekpenyong Ntekim.
Other representatives were the state’s Commissioner for Finance, Emem Bob; Commissioner for Information, Dr. Aniekan Umanah; and Federal House member Dr. Patrick Umoh.
The delegation is expected to present the state’s position, reiterating that the Supreme Court judgment remains final and binding, and urging all federal agencies to uphold the ruling.
Despite the 2012 judgment affirming Akwa Ibom as a littoral state, concerns have emerged that ongoing federal administrative processes may favour Cross River State.
In July 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that Cross River, having lost the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon, no longer possessed a maritime boundary and could not claim offshore oil wells.
The federal mapping exercise, coordinated by RMAFC and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, aims to provide accurate verification of disputed and newly drilled wells across Nigeria.
Mohammed Bello Shehu, RMAFC Chairman, said the exercise is designed to ensure states receive the correct 13 per cent derivation revenue from oil and gas produced within their territories.
Critics in Akwa Ibom, however, argue that any decision to reallocate the wells to Cross River would amount to an administrative reversal of a settled Supreme Court ruling, raising serious questions about the sanctity of judicial decisions and federal-state relations in Nigeria’s oil-producing regions.
The verification exercise is expected to influence future derivation payments and could either ease or further inflame tensions between Akwa Ibom and Cross River, depending on its alignment with existing legal rulings.
Meanwhile, Akwa Ibom State government has insisted ghat the state will vigorously defend its oil assets, emphasizing that any infringement could have significant economic and political repercussions for the Niger Delta region.
