76 Oil Wells Controversy: Ex-senator faults Eno, alleges compromise
A former senator and the 2023 governorship candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in Akwa Ibom State, John Akpanudoedehe, has criticised the Akwa Ibom State Governor Umo Eno’s handling of the renewed controversy over the state’s 76 oil wells. Mr Akpanudoedehe warned against any loss of the disputed 76 oil wells. The long-running dispute over offshore oil wells between Akwa Ibom and Cross River states has deepened as both governments restated opposing legal and political positions. Akwa Ibom State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Uko Udom, had dismissed reports suggesting that the oil wells may be returned to Cross River, insisting there was no constitutional or legal basis for such claims. Cross River Governor Bassey Otu, however, maintained that “fairness” must prevail, and that his state should not be denied its “rights”. Akpanudoedehe faults Eno The former senator, who is the leader of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the state, criticised Governor Eno in a Facebook video, warning of political consequences if the oil wells were lost. “Before now, a lot of people in our polity, those who are alive and those who are dead, worked so hard in terms of resource control for the general interest of the Niger Delta,” he said. He credited former governors Victor Attah and Godswill Akpabio for defending the state’s oil interests, saying, “Former Governor Victor Attah, under his watch, would not allow and did not allow (the oil wells) to be taken away from us… under his watch, he would not allow it.” Mr Akpanudoedehe, without providing evidence, alleged a compromise by a federal committee. “Now you’ve allowed the committee that I am very sure has been compromised by any standard to reach a conclusion against the Akwa Ibom people,” he said. He warned: “If you allow these 76 oil wells to be taken away from us… I want to tell you that you’ll not be forgiven.” He added, “You may see me as an opposition person, but I have the interest of the Akwa Ibom people at heart. Do everything within your power not to allow what I am hearing to come to pass.” ‘No oil well ceded’ – Akwa Ibom govt The Commissioner for Justice in Akwa Ibom, Mr Udom, whose office is handling the oil wells matter, did not respond to a request for comments on concerns raised by Mr Akpanudoedehe. But while addressing reporters on Monday in Uyo, Mr Udom, SAN, said the controversy stemmed from a misinterpretation of a draft report submitted by a Federal Government inter-agency committee to the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC). He said the commission clarified that what it received on 13 February 2026 was only a draft, not a decision or approved recommendation. “The Commission has described the circulating claims as speculative and not reflective of any final position,” Mr Udom said. He anchored the state’s position on two Supreme Court judgements, which, according to him, conclusively settled the maritime boundary and oil wells dispute. “The legal position, therefore, stands firmly established,” he said, stressing that under Section 235 of the Constitution, Supreme Court decisions are final and binding. “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,” Mr Udom added. He declared, “No oil well has been ceded. No Supreme Court judgment has been overturned. No constitutional provision has been amended.” ‘No cause for alarm’ — Governor Eno Governor Umo Eno also urged residents to remain calm, dismissing claims of any transfer of oil wells to Cross River. “There are two Supreme Court judgements 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 Cameroon, and the Nigerian Supreme Court has said so twice to establish this fact,” he said. The governor added, “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 expressed confidence in President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to the rule of law, stating, “I believe in the administration of President 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.” Cross River: ‘We won’t be denied our rights’ Governor Otu said the state should not suffer economic loss following the ceding of the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon. Speaking on Monday at the Margaret Ekpo International Airport in Calabar, he said the decision to cede Bakassi for national peace should not deprive Cross River of its oil resources, Tribune newspaper reported. READ ALSO: Akwa Ibom’s N2.53 trillion revenue in 32 months under Eno surpasses its previous eight-year earnings “The ceding of part of Bakassi was for the peace of the country. It was not for Cross River State to lose its oil wells. We are full-fledged Nigerians. Nobody can deny us our rights, and that time has come,” Otu said. Background The oil wells dispute dates back decades and is rooted in boundary interpretations following Nigeria’s implementation of the 2002 International Court of Justice judgment that ceded the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon. Akwa Ibom maintains that the ruling removed Cross River’s littoral status and offshore derivation rights — a position it says was affirmed by the Supreme Court in 2005 and 2012. RMAFC has also refuted claims that any oil wells were ceded to Cross River. Both states and key political actors continue to press their positions as the controversy remains politically and economically significant. 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