Ruth NWORIE
The Akwa Ibom State Government has dismissed reports suggesting that oil wells attributed to the state may be returned to Cross River State, insisting that no administrative process can overturn subsisting Supreme Court judgments affirming its ownership.
The clarification follows media reports alleging that a Federal Government Inter-Agency Committee submitted a report to the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) recommending a reallocation of certain oil wells.
In a press briefing, the state government explained that what RMAFC received on February 13, 2026, was a draft report and not a final decision or approved recommendation.
It noted that the commission had publicly described circulating claims as speculative and not reflective of any concluded position.
The government further recalled that the boundary dispute between Akwa Ibom and Cross River States had been conclusively settled by the Supreme Court of Nigeria in landmark rulings delivered in 2005 and 2012.
According to the state, while aspects of the northern boundary dispute were resolved in favour of Cross River State, the apex court dismissed claims over the southern estuarine territory where the oil wells are located.
It added that the court took into consideration the October 10, 2002 judgment of the International Court of Justice on the land and maritime boundary between Nigeria and Cameroon, which altered Cross River State’s coastal status.
The state maintained that the legal implication of those judgments is that Cross River State ceased to qualify as a littoral state for the purpose of offshore oil derivation, thereby affirming Akwa Ibom’s entitlement to the oil wells within its recognized maritime boundaries.
Governor Umo Eno, who spoke to Government House correspondents upon his arrival at the Victor Attah International Airport on Sunday, expressed confidence in the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and reiterated that the rule of law would prevail.
He said:
“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.
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.
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.
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.”
The state government added in its briefing:
“No oil well has been ceded.
No Supreme Court judgment has been overturned.
No constitutional provision has been amended.
Akwa Ibom State will not surrender its God-given resources. We will not relinquish what rightfully belongs to our people under the Constitution and under binding judicial authority. Our resources are held in trust for present and future generations, and this Government will defend them responsibly, peacefully, and resolutely.”
