Cross River State Government had on 28th July, 2025 issued a Press Statement titled “RE:76 OIL WELLS, RESTATEMENT OF FACTS” where all the emerging facts regarding the surreptitious allocation of Cross River State 76 Oil Wells to Akwa Ibom State and all related matters thereto were clearly enunciated for public information.
In 2025 Cross River State petitioned the President and RMAFC, NBC, NUPRC and OSGOF with evidence of 245 new Oil Wells derivation allocation with a comprehensive scientific, geological and Legal EVIDENCE justifying Cross River State’s Oil producing Status.
An Inter-Agency Committee was constituted by Mr. President and exercise conducted in November 2025 confirming additional Oil Wells derivation allocation for Cross River. The current Inter-Agency Committee opened a public hearing for the presentation of the report having shared the coordinates to both States.
The result is obvious, Cross River State is an Oil producing State with Oil Wells within its maritime territory beyond, 67 or 76 Oil Wells.
As at today, Cross River still maintains that position which necessitated the writing of the petition in the first Instance to the President, His Excellency, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, over the injustice meted to us as a State.
We bore the brunt of handing over a part of Bakassi to the Republic of Cameroon all these years. It baffles our imagination how only a portion of Bakassi was ceded to Cameroon while the Oil Wells found their way to Akwa Ibom that was not part of the dispute in the first place.
Thanks to Mr. President, the Federal Government Inter-Agency Technical Committee was set up to look into the emerging matters.
Comprehensive visits, mappings and findings have been made to the area in dispute by all concerned and new discoveries have emerged in the area which was not demarcated, boundaries have been set between the Cross River State estuaries and the Cameroon.
Therefore, the Committee should be allowed to present their findings to show the actual location of the Oil wells within both States. Cross River State deplores every divisive plot to disrupt the conclusion of this findings, report and implementation.
We have absolute confidence in the joint Committee and urge them to remain resolute in rewriting the wrongs of the past.
Cross River State under the Administration of Sen. Prince Bassey Otu is governed by God. What is truly ours will be returned to us.
We are hopeful of getting back all our Oil Wells.
