A long-standing territorial dispute has resurfaced as the Akwa Ibom and Cross River state governments clash over the ownership of 76 lucrative offshore oil wells. The tension reached a boiling point on monday, following reports that a Federal Government Inter-Agency Committee had submitted a draft report to the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), which allegedly projected the “return” of these assets to Cross River.
Akwa Ibom State Governor Umo Eno swiftly dismissed these claims as “baseless propaganda,” asserting that two subsisting Supreme Court judgments from 2002 and 2012 have already finalized the state’s legal right to the wells.
The core of the “bickering” centers on whether scientific coordinates can override judicial precedent. Cross River Governor Bassey Otu has argued that fresh verification of crude oil and gas coordinates, conducted between August 2025 and February 2026, places over 100 wells, including the disputed 76, within his state’s maritime territory, specifically within OML 114.
Cross River officials maintain that the 2012 Supreme Court ruling was based on the loss of the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon, which technically made the state “non-littoral” (not having a coast). However, they now contend that modern hydrographic mapping proves they still possess a seaward boundary and rightful claim to the oil revenue.
Akwa Ibom’s legal team, led by Attorney General Uko Udom, SAN, countered that no technical panel or inter-agency committee has the constitutional authority to “sit in appeal” over a Supreme Court decision.
They argue that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling effectively eliminated Cross River’s estuarine sector, leaving it with no maritime boundary to claim. While RMAFC Chairman Mohammed Shehu has clarified that the recent document is merely a “draft report” and not a final reallocation, the potential for a fiscal shift has created significant apprehension across both states.
The dispute now awaits a final decision from the Presidency and the official adoption of the RMAFC’s verification exercise. If the report’s recommendations are approved, Cross River could be re-listed as an oil-producing state for the first time since 2008, a move that would significantly alter the revenue distribution formula in the Niger Delta.
Conversely, Akwa Ibom remains vigilant, with officials vowing to protect their “God-given resources” through all available legal and constitutional channels.
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