Abuja — The ceding of Bakassi Peninsula to the Republic of Cameroun by the Olusegun Obasanjo government has given birth to yet another ugly situation such that two friendly states are on the war path.

The Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) had deleted Cross River's name from the list of oil producing state.

In a letter to the vice President Goodluck Jonathan and obtained by the Daily Trust, the Cross River state Government said: "We only need to highlight that the only agency authorized by Law to establish and where necessary adjust boundaries is the National Boundaries Commission (NBC), and there are statutorily stipulated procedures for that which essentially involve the participation of the parties involved. In the present situation, not only that the Cross River/Akwa Ibom boundary was adjusted by RMAFC (and not NBC), but fundamentally this was done without the participation of the two states.

"Our position is that until the NBC, following statutory laid down procedure, adjust the maritime boundaries, the maritime boundaries between Cross River and Akwa Ibom must remain as established with the concurrence of both states and the approval of the President in 2005. RMAFC cannot, suo motu, without any complaint from anybody, submit a boundary issue to itself and seek to resolve it using rules different from those previously agreed applied. And without alerting the states concerned that their boundary was in contention.

The decision to delist Cross River state from the list of littoral states was taken by RMAFC without compliance with section 159 of the Constitution."

It said its people have become refugees amidst oil wealth in the Niger Delta. The state also sees the delisting as a gross violation of the nation's constitution.

In the submission to the VP, it said: "Section 8(2) of the 1999 Constitution requires an Act of the National Assembly to legalize any adjustment of boundaries within the Federation. The Constitution stated the elaborate and strict procedure for the enactment of an Act of the National Assembly relating to boundary adjustment. Presently RMAFC has conducted a boundary adjustment and commenced the application of derivation based on the new boundaries without any recourse to the National Assembly as required by the Constitution."

Daily Trust can report that the cause of the problem is the decision by the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) to cede revenues of 76 oil wells hitherto allotted to Cross River State to Akwa Ibom state.

Making this known at the end of a retreat organized by the RMAFC in Kano, the Chairman Engr. Hamman Tukur explained that his Commission has taken the decision in line with the decision of the Supreme Court in 2005 which purportedly ceded 17 out of the 90 Cross River State oil wells to Akwa Ibom State.

The Governor of the state Lyel Imoke, soon after the announcement, had expressed regrets that the federal government decided to delist the state from the oil producing states, while expressing optimism that given the records of President Umaru Yar' adua, the decision would soon be reversed by the relevant authorities.

He said the decision has led to the reduction of the state's federal allocation from N2.2billion to N1.05 billion.

The governor said the decision was taken without the knowledge of the President and Vice President and that the other stakeholders, the governments of Cross Rivers and Akwa Ibom were not consulted.

The decision of the RMFAC Committee to delist Cross Rivers State was based on the Supreme Court decision in 2005. This decision was later interpreted by the Technical Committee set up by the Federal Government. No judgment was delivered in this, except the opinion of the judge.

Commentators also say the Federal Government would do well by compensating Cross River State a fixed percentage from the consolidated fund on a perpetual basis given that it suffers from ecological damage arising from ocean currents funneling pollutants from oil exploration activities in Akwa Ibom state into the Calabar estuary. Similarly, there is a huge refugee crisis in the state having lost out Bakassi to Cameroun and now left to cater for the erstwhile inhabitants of a whole local government area in perpetuity.

For now, there is a quick need for the Federal Government to wade into the problem and find a lasting solution to it.