Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, has reassured citizens that there is no cause for alarm over reports alleging the transfer of oil wells, stressing that two valid Supreme Court judgments affirm the State’s ownership, including the recently reported 76 wells.
Fielding questions from newsmen at Victor Attah International Airport, Governor Eno expressed confidence in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s leadership, highlighting the President’s commitment to the rule of law.
“There are two Supreme Court judgments 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 Cameroun, and the Nigerian Supreme Court has said so twice to establish this fact,” he said.
Governor Eno cautioned against sensationalism and propaganda, stressing that legal facts outweigh sentiments.
“There is no cause for alarm. The people on the other side may cook up any story they want; raise propaganda, but 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,” he added.
Reaffirming his faith in due process, Eno said: “I believe in the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu; I believe that the rule of law will be respected; I believe that we cannot throw away Supreme Court decisions twice on this particular matter.”
He further highlighted the inconsistency in timing, noting: “If we were to talk about sentiments, then Cross River State should equally contest the allocation of many Ibibio-speaking villages of Itu LGA in Akwa Ibom State to Cross River State. Why are they coming up now to whip up sentiments when irrefutable facts on the oil wells have already been established?”
“Facts are sacrosanct, and you cannot push them under the carpet with sentiments. Let our people remain calm because our President is a man who respects the rule of law,” Governor Eno emphasized.
The Governor’s firm stance underscores Akwa Ibom State’s legal ownership of its oil wells and reinforces calls for adherence to due process in matters of national and state resource management.
The Governor’s remarks follow a formal rebuttal from the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, RMAFC, which described reports of oil well reallocation as “misleading, premature, and does not represent the position or conclusions of the Commission.”
RMAFC Chairman, M. B. Shehu, clarified that a draft report from the Inter-Agency Committee received on February 13, 2026, is still under review by technical agencies including the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, the National Boundary Commission, NBC, and the Office of the Surveyor General of the Federation, OSGOF.
“Only after these processes will a final report be submitted to the President and the Attorney-General of the Federation for action in line with the law,” he said.
