Sen. John Udoedehe
By Dianabasi Effiong
Sen. John Udoedehe, a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and former interim national Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), on Friday tasked Gov. Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom to resist alleged moves to cede the long-settled 76 disputed oil wells to Cross River.
The former Minister of State, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), said on a Facebook live programme that posterity would not forgive Eno should he allow the 76 oil wells to be taken away from Akwa Ibom.
His views came as stakeholders in Akwa Ibom and Cross River traded words over the affected oil wells.
According to Udoedehe, the federal government would not have set up any review committee over the oil wells without Eno’s (who recently defected from PDP to APC) knowledge.
He also alleged that moves to cede the said oil wells to Cross River in spite of the huge financial resources at the disposal of the state government had depicted what he called Eno’s weakness and lack of political reach.
He said past leaders including Eno’s predecessors, worked hard to achieve resource control for the Niger Delta.
He added that it would be regrettable for the oil wells to be taken away from the state under Gov. Umo Eno’s tenure.
“If you allow these 76 oil wells to be taken away from us, against the efforts and sweat of those who are still living and those who are dead, to elude us, to be taken away from us, I want to tell you that you will not be forgiven.
“Now under your watch, the issue of 76 oil wells has shown up again. And the main reason you are in APC today, if I may quote you correctly, you told the Akwa Ibom people the reason you went to APC was that you want to link Akwa Ibom to the centre.
“What that means is that you will not allow a committee set up by the Federal Government to reach a conclusion against you or the state because they will call you, and you have to know about it.
“Now you have allowed a committee that I would not say I am totally sure has been compromised by any standard to reach a conclusion against Akwa Ibom’s people.
“With so much resources at your disposal, with the political reach that you are supposed to have, it is not a matter of wearing the ARISE cap, or singing: on your mandate we stand; it is about the political reach.
“If they had taken you seriously, they would not have reached that conclusion. If you allow it to happen, you will be seen as a weak and unprepared governor.
“I am advising you publicly, do everything within your powers, with your resources and political reach, not to allow what I am hearing to come to pass,” Udoedehe stated
Recently, the Akwa Ibom Government had urged its citizens to disregard reports alleging that the affected oil wells were being transferred to Cross River.
The Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Uko Udom, gave the advice on Monday, while interacting with select journalists, on the development in Uyo.
He said: “There is no cause for alarm over reports alleging the transfer of oil wells to Cross River.
According to him, no propaganda or sentiments can overturn valid Supreme Court judgments affirming Akwa Ibom state’s ownership of the oil wells, including the reported 76 oil wells.
He added that Akwa Ibom would not surrender its God-given resources and would not relinquish what rightfully belonged to its people under the Constitution and under binding judicial authority.
He added that the state Governor, Mr. Umo Eno, was holding the resources of the state in trust for present and future generations.
The commissioner also assured that the state government would defend its resources responsibly, peacefully, and resolutely.
“All the oil wells in question, whether existing or newly referenced, lie within Akwa Ibom’s recognised maritime and littoral boundaries based on established hydrographic coordinates and legally enforceable boundary adjudications,” he said.
Udom also stated that, “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.
“Let it therefore be clearly stated, no oil well has been ceded, no Supreme Court judgment has been overturned, and 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.”
Speaking further on the strength of the state’s position on the matter, Udom said: “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.
Also, the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) refuted reports that the oil wells were allegedly ceded to Cross River.
It also said that such claims were false and misleading.
Similarly, on Friday, the Cross River Economic Intelligence Team offered the groups a Response entitled “RE: RESPONSE OF THE CROSS RIVER STATE ECONOMIC INTELLIGENCE TEAM (CREIT) TO THE STATEMENT BY RMAFC ON THE IATC REPORT ON VERIFICATION OF DISPUTED CRUDE OIL AND GAS COORDINATES.”
The response drew the attention of Dr. M. B. Shehu, the Chairman, RMAFC, on the matter in focus
The statement, obtained on Friday, stated: “Dear Sir, The Cross River State Economic Intelligence Team (CREIT) acknowledges the public statement issued by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) concerning the report of the Inter-Agency Technical Committee (IATC) on the verification of crude oil and gas well coordinates between oil-producing states.
“While we respect institutional processes, we consider it necessary, in the overriding national interest, to place the following observations, objections, and expectations on record.”
It states, “1. STATUS OF THE IATC REPORT AS a PUBLIC DOCUMENTS OF NATIONAL SECURITY IMPORTANCE: The IATC exercise was a presidentially mandated inter-agency verification mission involving statutory technical institutions and state actors.
“The field verification, plotting, and reconciliation of wellheads and reservoir coordinates constitute national technical intelligence with direct implications for revenue derivation, maritime boundary security, and Nigeria’s offshore resource governance.
“Accordingly, the IATC Report is not a routine internal memo but a public document of national security relevance. Characterising it as “speculative” or merely “draft” undermines the credibility of the inter-agency process and weakens public confidence in transparent governance.”
It also stated, “2. SCIENTIFIC PLOTTING AND EVIDENTIARY OUTCOMES: The plotting of 239 crude oil and gas wellheads and coordinates on the most accurate and current scientific base maps of Nigeria, using geodetic, hydrographic, and reservoir system references, produced clear, visible, and verifiable outcomes already contained in the IATC Report.
“These outcomes demonstrate reservoir continuity, spatial attribution of wellheads, and the precise location of crude and gas accumulations within the maritime territory of Cross River State. These findings are evidence-based and cannot be displaced by administrative re-characterisation or procedural delays.
It stated is position on “3. PROTECTION OF NATIONAL MARITIME BOUNDARY SECURITY AND STRATEGIC NAVIGATION CHANNELS.
“The Cross River Estuary, adjoining offshore maritime spaces, and the unceded body of water at the estuarine mouth constitute strategic national maritime corridors for navigation, maritime security operations, and continental shelf entitlements.”
According to CREIT, “Any attempt to alter, dilute, or administratively manipulate the technical findings of the IATC poses grave national security risks, including the compromise of Nigeria’s maritime boundary integrity, exposure of sensitive hydrographic and navigation channels, and the weakening of Nigeria’s strategic posture in the Gulf of Guinea.”
It further stated: “4. PROTECTION OF ONSHORE AND OFFSHORE WELLHEADS AND RESERVOIR COORDINATES WITHIN CROSS RIVER STATE MARITIME TERRITORY: The onshore and offshore wellheads and reservoir systems identified within Cross River State’s maritime territory are critical national assets.
“These include reservoirs within the Calabar Estuaries, the Calabar Geological Flank, and formations linked to the Niger Delta petroleum system. CREIT emphasises that the protection of these coordinates is not merely a revenue issue but a matter of sovereign resource security, investment certainty, and national upstream petroleum governance.”
It added, “5. OBJECTION TO POST-FACTO ADMINISTRATIVE INFLUENCE BY HEAFS OF FEDERAL AGENCIES, WHO ARE NOT MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE: While RMAFC, NBC, and OSGOF are statutory institutions with defined mandates, CREIT strongly objects to any attempt by the leadership of these agencies to influence, alter, dilute, or reframe the technical outcomes of the IATC after the conclusion of field verification and scientific plotting.”
The group also added that these agencies were represented within the IATC process.
“The integrity of the inter-agency framework requires that the Committee’s technical findings stand on their own merit and are not subjected to post-facto administrative gatekeeping by the same institutions whose historical omissions necessitated this extraordinary inter-agency verification exercise.
CREIT also stated its position on “6. INTERFERENCE AT THE IATC PLENARY OF 26 January 2025.
“We wish to formally draw the attention of the Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission to the plenary session of 26 January 2025, at which a letter from the Chairman of the National Boundary Commission (NBC) was tabled, purporting to direct the Chairman of the IATC to compel the Committee to adopt a particular obsolete 2008 Oil Dichotomy Variant Map for the plotting of newly verified crude oil and gas coordinates within the Cross River State maritime territory.
“The Chairman is respectfully invited to note that, on that date and in his presence, the Cross River State Economic Intelligence Team (EIT), alongside the Office of the Attorney-General of Ondo State, formally objected to this attempted interference.
“These objections were supported by documentary evidence, including NBC correspondence of 2024 addressed to Cross River State and OSGOF correspondence of 2024, both of which discredited the continued use and technical validity of the 2008 map.
“The subsequent attempts by the leadership of NBC and OSGOF to impose a predetermined cartographic outcome, in spite of the national maritime security implications and strategic risks involved, amount to an improper encroachment on the technical independence of the IATC.
“The Chairman is accordingly urged to ensure that the Committee’s scientific findings are protected from such interference and that this matter is clearly communicated to Mr President as part of the final transmission of the Report.”
On “7. OUTSTANDING 2024 INTER-AGENCY REPORT AND THE HEIGHTENED NATIONAL SECURITY STAKES OF THE 2025 EXERCISE”, CREIT states that it “respectfully requests the Chairman of RMAFC to note that in May 2024, a similar inter-agency verification exercise reportedly recommended the attribution of 67 oil wells to Cross River State.
It also stated: “To date, the Commission is yet to deliberate upon or transmit that report to Mr President for executive consideration.
“The 2025 IATC Report, however, carries even more profound national maritime security implications for Nigeria and the Cross River Estuary than a mere question of oil well attribution. In view of the cumulative national interest involved, CREIT counts on the Chairman’s understanding and leadership to ensure that both the 2024 and 2025 reports are transmitted to Mr President without further delay.”
It also stated that on “8. DUE PROCESS AND IMMEDIATE TRANSMISSION TO MR PRESIDENT, adding, “CREIT maintains that due process, in this context, is best served by the immediate transmission of the IATC Report to Mr President, together with any minority observations or technical reservations as annexes, rather than withholding, reworking, or sanitising the core findings.”
According to the Team, “The President is constitutionally positioned to receive, evaluate, and direct further actions on matters with profound national security, fiscal federalism, and interstate equity implications.”
It also stated their expected outcomes: “CREIT therefore expects that: The IATC Report will be preserved in its original technical integrity.
“The scientific plotting outcomes on the 239 verified coordinates will be upheld as the evidentiary baseline for attribution.
“The national maritime security implications of the Cross River Estuary and adjoining offshore boundary spaces will be expressly recognised; and
The Report will be transmitted to Mr President without delay for executive consideration and appropriate constitutional action.”
According to CREIT, Cross River State’s position is grounded not in sentiment but in science, verified coordinates, reservoir systems, and the overriding national interest.
It also stated that the credibility of Nigeria’s inter-agency governance architecture depended on protecting technical truth from administrative dilution.
“The IATC Report represents a rare moment of evidence-based clarity in a historically contentious domain and must be preserved and transmitted in its full technical integrity.
The group’s position was endorsed by Rt Hon (Bar) John Gaul Lebo and
Bar. Abang Odok Ogar, for
Cross River State Economic Intelligence Team (CREIT) at IATC- 2025.
