Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State has said no amount of propaganda or sentiment can overturn the state’s ownership rights to disputed oil wells.
The governor said two valid Supreme Court judgments have already settled the matter in favour of Akwa Ibom State.
Cross River State is contesting the ownership of the oil wells following a long-standing revenue dispute linked to the 2008 loss of the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon, which rendered it non-littoral.
A 2012 Supreme Court judgment awarded 76 oil wells to Akwa Ibom, but Cross River argues that new mapping and geological data place 67 of the wells within its territory.
Speaking to Government House correspondents on arrival at the Victor Attah International Airport on Sunday, Eno expressed confidence in President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to the rule of law.
“There are two Supreme Court judgments that give Akwa Ibom State the right to those oil wells,” he said.
“We are not sharing maritime boundaries with Cross River State but with the Republic of Cameroon, and the Nigerian Supreme Court has said so twice to establish this fact.”
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He urged residents to remain calm, stressing that “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 said.
Reaffirming his faith in due process, the governor added, “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 described the dispute as one rooted in established facts rather than emotions.
“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?” he queried.
The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission has also refuted reports alleging that the oil wells were ceded to Cross River State, describing such claims as false and misleading.
Corroborating that position, Eno said, “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.”
