This Day (Lagos)
Funso Muraina
2 July 2009
Abuja — The Cross River State Elders Consultative Forum has condemned and rejected "in its entirety" the delisting of Cross River as an oil-producing state and the ceding of 76 oil wells to Akwa Ibom State.
The body, made up of eminent personalities including former Senate President, Dr. Joseph Wayas; former Minister of Finance, Etubom Anthony Ani; and former Ambassador, Chief Matthew T. Mbu, described the action of the Revenue Mobilisation, Alloca-tion and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) and the National Boundary Commis-sion (NBC) as "capable of disrupting peace, not only of the two neighbouring states, but the nation at large".
This was contained in a 13-point communiqué presented at the end of its meeting on Tuesday in Calabar, Cross River State.
The elders commended President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua and Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan for their efforts at resolving the issue amicably and in the interest of national security, equity and justice, but condemned the RMFAC for "misleading the President on the issue and deliberately avoiding and suppressing the report of its technical committee set up to determine the position of Cross River as an Oil-Producing State".
Maintaining that the report was unequivocal in its recommendation that the state is not only a littoral state but oil-producing and her waters degraded by oil pollution, they questioned the intention of the Chairman of RMAFC, Alhaji Hamman Tukur.
The forum also condemned the NBC for its "flagrant breach" of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by altering state boundaries without due process with connivance of RMAFC.
According to them, "Section 8(2) provides: An Act of the National Assembly for the purpose of boundary adjustment of any existing state shall only be passed if: (a) Request for the boundary adjustment, supported by two-thirds majority of members (representing the area demanding and the area affected by the boundary adjustment) in each of the following, namely the Senate and the House of Representatives, the House of Assembly in respect of the area, and the Local Government Councils in respect of the area, is received by the National Assembly and a proposal for the boundary adjustment is approved by a simple majority of members of each House of the National Assembly and a simple majority of members of the House of Assembly in respect of area concerned."
According to them, Cross River has made "incalculable sacrifice" for the sake of the Nigerian nation by allowing its territory to be ceded to the Republic of Cameroon, against the wish of the people.
It said the controversy should not in the first place arise because the issue was resolved by the two states at the same time the on-shore/off shore controversy was politically resolved by the last administration to the satisfaction of the two states.
They added that the position which was settled using historical titles and accepted by the Presidency, is also supported by Article 15 and 17(i) of UNCLOS 1982, of which Nigeria is a signatory as the ill-motivated move to reopen a closed issue is not only in bad faith, but an attempt to try the patience of Cross Riverians.
"The peace loving people of Cross River State should not be provoked further and their patience taken for granted. The capital of Nigeria, which was formerly in Calabar, was moved to Lagos, the people did not react, substantial part of Bakassi was ceded to the Cameroon, our people did not react. And now, the ceding of our oil wells and declassification as a littoral state. It must be warned that we are approaching a boiling point and may not be able to guarantee peace if these acts of provocation are not redressed immediately," the elders said.
They urged the people of the state "to continue to maintain the peace because they have implicit confidence in the President's ability to resolve the issue", pledging that they were "solidly behind" Governor Liyel Imoke in the steps taken so far and urged him to continue to use all lawful means to ensure amicable resolution of the peaceful co-existence of the two states.
They said the devastation and pollution visited on the state's coastal waters and creeks by oil production and exploration activities, which had been overlooked in the past, should be compensated by the Federal authorities, stressing that the ceding of Bakassi, "which was done without the consent and wishes of Cross Riverians should attract compensation in perpetuity from both the Federal Government and the United Nations while calling on the state government to adopt all lawful means to get full reparation in perpetuity for the ceding of Bakassi.
"We are unshaken in our belief in the Nigerian Federation, and the ability of Mr. President and Vice-President to ensure equity, justice and fair play in this matter," they said.
Addressing the forum earlier, Imoke said that their reactions to the issue reflect their recognition of some measures of good governance at various sectors, stating that the matter would be resolved in favour of the state.
He believed the matter would be resolved in the shortest possible time though the state had not taken kindly to it because it is the rights of the people, explaining that the April allocation to the state was N798 million with a wage bill of N1.1 billion with all the challenges of its terrain and weather.
The governor appealed to youths not to take to the streets.
Meanwhile, a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja yesterday adjourned till July 29, 2009, to fix a date for judgment in a suit filed by Rivers State Government over the 76 disputed oil wells between the neighbouring states of Akwa Ibom and Cross Rivers.
The court also yesterday adjourned till July 28 and 29 for lawyers to parties in the suit to adopt their written addresses on the preliminary applications and the substantive suits which the presiding judge, Justice Adamu Bello, directed should be consolidated.
Rivers State is asking the court to hold that the political solution adopted by the administration of former President Oulsegun Obasanjo in 2006 in resolving the dispute, is binding on all parties, since the then governor of Akwa Ibom State, Obong Victor Attah, endorsed the arrangement.
Counsel to Akwa Ibom State, Chief Bayo Ojo, SAN, told the court that it rejected the political solution because it had no foundation in law. Akwa Ibom is also challenging the power of the Federal High Court to hear the suits, insisting that only the Supreme Court could act as a court of first instance in matters between states as well as that of states against the Federal Government.
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