Gentlemen of the Press,
The Akwa Ibom State Government has carefully reviewed recent media reports suggesting that oil wells attributed to Akwa Ibom State may be “returned” to Cross River State following the submission of a “report” by a Federal Government Inter-Agency Committee to the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).
We consider it necessary to restate the facts clearly and authoritatively, in order to prevent misinformation and deliberate distortion of constitutional realities.
Firstly, the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission has publicly clarified that what it received on 13th February 2026 is a draft report — not a decision, not an approved recommendation, and certainly not a reallocation of oil wells. The Commission has described the circulating claims as speculative and not reflective of any final position.
Beyond this procedural clarification lies a more fundamental issue — the binding authority of the Supreme Court of Nigeria and the settled history of this dispute.
In Suit No. 124/1999, Cross River State sued Akwa Ibom State over two principal matters:
1. The northern non-estuarine boundary involving 24 villages of Oku, Itu, and Ayadehe in Itu Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State; and
2. The southern estuarine boundary where the oil wells are located.
On 24th June 2005, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of Cross River State only with respect to portions of the northern boundary. The Court dismissed Cross River’s claim over the estuarine southern territory, where all the oil wells are situated.
In its landmark pronouncement, the Court made it clear that the October 10, 2002 judgment of the International Court of Justice on the land and maritime boundary between Nigeria and Cameroon had fundamentally altered Cross River State’s coastal status. The Court held that the ICJ decision effectively eliminated Cross River’s estuarine sector, with the legal implication that Cross River no longer possessed a seaward boundary.
Subsequently, despite Akwa Ibom State’s efforts to promote peaceful engagement and preserve kinship and harmony, further litigation was initiated by Cross River State seeking clarification on offshore entitlements.
On 10th July 2012, the Supreme Court again ruled decisively in favour of Akwa Ibom State, holding that:
• Cross River State was no longer a littoral state entitled to offshore derivation;
• Its case was founded on a legally unsustainable assumption; and
• Akwa Ibom State’s entitlement to the oil wells was fully recognized.
The legal position therefore stands firmly established: following the cession of the Bakassi Peninsula pursuant to the 2002 ICJ judgment, Cross River State ceased to have a seaward boundary and lost its status as a littoral state for purposes of offshore oil derivation.
Under Section 235 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the decisions of the Supreme Court are final and binding on all authorities and persons throughout the Federation. There is no higher court. There is no supervisory committee. There is no administrative override.
No inter-agency committee, no technical panel, and no institutional process can alter, amend, reinterpret, or sit in appeal over a judgment of the Supreme Court. Any action inconsistent with a subsisting judgment of the apex court would be unconstitutional, null, and void.
All the oil wells in question, whether existing or newly referenced, lie within Akwa Ibom State’s recognized maritime and littoral boundaries based on established hydrographic coordinates and legally enforceable boundary adjudications. Their attribution followed due process and relied on empirical geographic data.
Let it therefore be clearly stated:
• No oil well has been ceded.
• No Supreme Court judgment has been overturned.
• No constitutional provision has been amended.
To the good people of Akwa Ibom State, we say this with utmost clarity and confidence: your Government is vigilant, engaged, and fully committed to protecting the economic interests of our State. We are following every institutional process closely, participating where required, and asserting our rights lawfully and firmly.
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.
We urge our citizens to remain calm, united, and confident. The foundation of our position is law. The strength of our case is geography. The shield of our rights is the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.