By CrossRiverWatch Admin
The Cross River State Consultative Forum (CRSCF) has urged Senate President Godswill Akpabio to use his position to facilitate an early and equitable resolution of the long-running dispute between Cross River and Akwa Ibom states over offshore oil wells.
The Forum made the call in a statement issued in response to remarks attributed to Akpabio during the 39th anniversary celebration of Akwa Ibom State.
It said the dispute over the oil wells was not merely a political disagreement between two neighboring states, but an issue involving maritime boundaries, technical evidence, derivation revenue and the economic interests of the people of Cross River.
The CRSCF said Akpabio, as President of the Senate and a former governor of Akwa Ibom State, was in a position to encourage a resolution based on evidence, law and dialogue.
The renewed dispute centers on offshore oil wells whose attribution has been contested by Cross River since the implementation of the 2002 International Court of Justice judgment on the Nigeria-Cameroon boundary and the subsequent handover of Bakassi.
Cross River had previously claimed entitlement to derivation revenue from 76 offshore oil wells. In 2012, the Supreme Court held that the state had lost its littoral status following the ceding of Bakassi and could not claim derivation revenue from offshore wells on the basis of its former maritime status.
However, Cross River has continued to challenge aspects of the attribution of the wells, arguing that the Supreme Court did not itself provide the technical coordinates for determining ownership of the wells and that the relevant federal agencies should undertake proper technical verification.
The CRSCF said subsequent inter-agency exercises had produced fresh evidence requiring the matter to be revisited.
It cited the 2025 Inter-Agency Technical Committee report, which, according to recent reports, identified 119 crude oil and gas wells attributable to Cross River and recommended that the state receive 13 per cent derivation revenue from the wells.
The report was submitted to the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), which indicated that the findings would undergo further scrutiny before transmission to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The CRSCF said the new technical findings strengthened the need for all relevant authorities to examine the matter afresh.
It called for the relevant federal institutions, including the National Boundary Commission, RMAFC, the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, to rely on scientific, hydrographic, geological and geographical evidence in determining the location and attribution of the disputed wells.
According to the Forum, the issue should not be settled through political assertions or historical assumptions when technical evidence could be used to determine the precise location of the wells.
It also said the reported figures from different inter-agency exercises underscored the need for transparency and final verification.
The Forum noted that an earlier presidential committee had identified 76 oil wells associated with Cross River, while subsequent inter-agency exercises had produced different figures, including 67 and, more recently, 119.
It said the differences made it necessary for the Federal Government to establish a definitive technical position.
Recent reports indicate that President Tinubu has directed efforts towards an amicable resolution of the dispute between the two states. Akpabio also reportedly mediated a meeting in Abuja on February 25 between Governor Bassey Otu of Cross River and Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom.
The CRSCF therefore urged the Senate President to build on such engagements and facilitate a settlement acceptable to both states.
It said the objective should not be to create winners and losers between Cross River and Akwa Ibom, but to establish the facts and ensure that the state legally entitled to derivation revenue receives it.
The Forum further argued that the dispute should be separated from the broader political and cultural relationship between the two states.
It said Cross River and Akwa Ibom shared historical, cultural and economic ties and that disagreements over resources should not be allowed to damage relations between their people.
“Good neighborliness and parliamentary courtesy are valuable; they do not substitute for accurate geography, honest history, or equitable resource treatment,” the Forum said.
The organization also urged Akpabio to facilitate what it described as a timely and just resolution of the matter in the national interest.
It said resolving the dispute through credible technical and legal processes would provide certainty to both states and strengthen public confidence in the institutions responsible for determining Nigeria’s maritime and resource boundaries.
The CRSCF maintained that Cross River’s position was not aimed at antagonizing Akwa Ibom but at securing what it described as the state’s legitimate economic interests through lawful means.
It called for continued dialogue between the governors of the two states and the relevant federal agencies, stressing that any final determination should be based on verifiable coordinates, official boundary records and applicable law.
The Forum said it remained open to engagement with Akwa Ibom and the Federal Government towards a mutually acceptable resolution.
It urged the Senate President to use his national position to advance that process rather than allow the dispute to remain unresolved.
The CRSCF said a transparent resolution would serve not only Cross River and Akwa Ibom but also the wider national interest by clarifying the basis for the allocation of derivation revenue from disputed offshore resources.
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