Comply With S’Court Order On Oil Wells

The planned ceding of 17 disputed oil wells located at Akri and Mbede to Imo State recently assumed a
sudden twist when the Supreme Court ordered the Federal Government to observe a stay of action on the alleged plan. The Rivers State Government took Imo State to court over the disputed oil wells.
The Supreme Court made the order while ruling on an ex parte application brought before it by counsel for the Rivers State Government in the case, Emmanuel Ukala (SAN). The order was given to prevent the alleged plan to cede the disputed wells to Imo State, while the substantive suit instituted by the state government is still pending before the court.
Restrained thereafter by the apex court were the office of the Attorney General of the Federation as well as his Imo State counterpart from embarking on any action regarding the ownership of the wells under consideration until the ownership issues and the questions surrounding them are properly resolved.
Also ordered were the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) and the Office of the Accountant-General who were barred from approving, implementing, or giving effect in any manner to a letter from the RMAFC office with reference number RMC/O&G/47/1/264 of July 1, 2021, which cancelled the equal sharing of proceeds from the 17 oil wells between Rivers and Imo States.
One of the reliefs sought by the Attorney General of Rivers State is the apex court’s “declaration that the boundary between Rivers State and Imo state, as delineated on Nigeria administrative map, 10, 11 and 12th editions and other maps bearing similar delineations are inaccurate, incorrect and do not represent the legitimate and lawful boundaries between Rivers and Imo State”.
Equally demanded by the plaintiff is a declaration that as far as Nigeria’s administrative map 10, 11 and 12th editions and other maps bearing similar delineations relate to the boundary between Rivers and Imo, the said maps are unlawful and void, and cannot be relied on to determine the extent of the territorial governmental jurisdiction of Rivers State and to determine the revenue accruing to the state from the federation account, including the application of the principle of derivation and other revenue allocation principles as contained in the 1999 Constitution.
Similarly, the state government sought a declaration that the oil wells within Akri and Mbede communities are wrongly attributed to Imo State and that they are all oil wells within the territory of Rivers State and form part of the state, and that only Rivers State is entitled to receive the full allocation of the distributable revenue from the oil wells, based on the derivation as contained under Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution.
Only a few years ago, Rivers State was in a similar brawl with its Bayelsa counterpart over ownership of Soku oil wells. In the course of this dispute, a grand plan to forcibly annex certain Rivers State’s communities to Bayelsa State was laid out despite legal declarations on the matter.
Curiously, the dispute which got to the Supreme Court was supposed to have been resolved by the correction of an error in the delineation of the inter-state boundary in the 11th edition of the administrative map of Nigeria prepared by the National Boundaries Commission (NBC) and the office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation in 1999.
In that case, the Supreme Court also ordered that all monies from contested oil wells be deposited in an escrow account by the RMFAC. That was, indeed, the position of things until the then Rivers State Governor, Rt Hon. Chibuike Amaechi, alerted the state and the nation about the secret disbursement of N17 billion from the escrow account to Bayelsa State by former President Gooduck Jonathan’s administration.
We commend the Court for issuing the injunction that has so far prevented the two neighbouring states from aggravating the situation. It is in the interest of peace that the Federal Government respects the judgment of the Supreme Court. In observing the restraining order, the Bayelsa/Rivers States scenario, where clandestine disbursements were made to our sister state, should not be replicated in any form whatsoever.
The RMFAC should act appropriately by discontinuing to pay monies from disputed wells to either state until the matter is resolved. As such, an escrow account is suggested. This account should be subject to periodic evaluation to determine whether changes have occurred. Any shortfall must be explained.
Importantly, the NBC should be up and running in its core mandate of defining and delimitating boundaries between states, local government areas or communities in accordance with delimitation instruments or documents established for that purpose. It is disturbing that despite the commission’s mandate, more than 150 active border disputes resulting from non-delimitation of boundaries exist within and between states across Nigeria.
More often than not, the commission’s intervention in the settlement of boundary crisis in Nigeria, even after judgements of the Supreme Court, were always belated and came after loss of human lives and property. Boundary issues would have to be dealt with urgently. That is why we urge the NBC to take adequate steps to investigate such conflicts around the country to curb widespread disputes arising from non-delimitation of Nigeria’s internal boundaries.
Governor Nyesom Wike is rhapsodised for always protecting the assets and resources of Rivers State. But for his proactive steps, that would not have happened. We welcome the court’s decision and call on Wike to continue to defend the interests of the state in favour of its people. It demonstrates the Governor’s belief in due process in his fight against injustice to the state.