Governor Akpabio On The Lead, As Oil Wells War Goes To S/Court

Following the decision of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which held that it lacked the powers to entertain disputes between two states all is now set for a titanic battle at the Supreme Court between Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross Rivers states over ownership of 162 oil wells.

With the January 19, 2010, pronouncement of Justice Adamu Bello of the Federal High Court everything oil wells among the three states have now shifted to the apex court, where the ownership of the controversial money-spinning oil wells would be finally determined.

Going by the nature of the controversy, it is a straight battle between Rivers and Cross River on one hand and Akwa Ibom on the other, since the former actually suffered a loss that turned out to be the latter's gain, with the National Boundary Commission retuning 86 oil wells to Akwa Ibom from Rivers and another 76 from Cross Rivers following the application of the Historic Titles method.
Though both Rivers and Cross River are pursuing the battle to challenge the ceding independently, both have lost the first round of the litigation to Akwa Ibom at the Federal High Court, where their cases were thrown out by the same Bello, following the success of Akwa Ibom's objection challenging the competence of the court to adjudicate on the matter.

While Cross River was swift in seeing the wisdom behind the objection raised on behalf of Akwa Ibom by the former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Bayo Ojo (SAN) and withdrew its suit, which was eventually struck out by the court, it took Rivers State until January 19, when the court held that it lacked the powers to grant its prayers and struck out the matter.
Specifically; Ojo had argued that only the Supreme Court could act as a court of first instance in matters between states as well as states against the Federal Government, citing section 232 (1) of the 1999 Constitution, which confers exclusive right of original jurisdiction on the apex court in cases between the Federal Government and states as well as between states in the federation. Bello agreed with him.

Cross River had in swift reaction gone to the Supreme Court after the defeat at the Federal High Court and with feelers on the ground the Rivers State government will follow suit in challenging the decision at the apex court going by the statement of its Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Ben Chikere, who told journalists after the judgment that “the court only said that we should have gone to the Supreme Court instead of coming here but has not said we have no valid claim. We will go to the apex court as soon as possible”.
Akwa Ibom, despite its successes at the lower court, is also not leaving any stone unturned as it is determined to have all the revenues accruing from the disputed oil wells paid to it.

To this end, it has filed a separate suit at the apex court seeking to have all the 13 per cent derivation funds paid to the two states on the controversial oil wells refunded to it, a move seen as a counter to the Cross River's suit, which wanted the Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Allocation Commission (RMFAC) to stop including the 76 oil wells in the payment of the derivation funds to Akwa Ibom.
Observers have contended that the obvious interest shown in the ceding exercise by Cross River is understandable because it removed it from the list of oil-producing states, while Rivers is said not to have been too keen on it because the incumbent Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, who was then the Speaker of Rivers State House of Assembly in 2006, was privy to the political solution employed by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, which got Rivers the oil wells that did not originally belong to it, with the presidential ambition of former Governor, Peter Odili, an erstwhile ally of Obasanjo said to be the defining factor for the controversial political solution.

In a conversation with a top official of the Rivers State the government functionary tactically conceded that the state might just be trying its luck in court by saying that since there had not been any judicial pronouncement on the oil wells, it would do well to have the actions taken so far on them from Obasanjo's era till date, subjected to judicial test, which was what the state government wanted by initiating the court process.

What further gives credence to the above is the way Rivers had structured its case, holding on to the purported political arrangement and asking court to make Akwa Ibom respect it because it was endorsed by its former Governor, Victor Attah, while also begging the court to make orders entitling it to the 13 per cent derivation revenue emanating from the 86 oil wells to the exclusion of Akwa Ibom.
The state, through its counsel, Ojo, however disagreed; pointing out that in this administration of due process, the arbitrariness of Obasanjo's era should and would not be tolerated, adding that the incumbent governor, Godswill Akpabio had protested the political solution, which led to the oil wells being transferred to the state.

Ojo added that the state rejected the political solution because it had no basis in law, noting that if the lower court was minded to assume jurisdiction in the suit by Rivers, it should dismiss the case because the oil wells were transferred by government agencies statutorily empowered to do so. He added that the court was not empowered to usurp the statutory functions of the agencies, which used the appropriate instrument for the determination of the maritime boundary between the two states.

Ojo further stated that, “the political solution method adopted for sometime before the reversal to the Historic Title method in determining” the maritime boundaries of the Akwa Ibom and Rivers states had no foundational basis in law and unenforceable by any court of law.

Ojo also noted that Akpabio in a letter dated October 2007 had protested the Obansajo's political solution adding that “The National Boundary Commission in another proposal to resolve the boundary crisis between Akwa Ibom and Rivers states advised the use of Historic Title's in the distribution of oil wells. The presidency in 2006 accepted the application of Historic Titles' between Akwa Ibom and Cross River State but opted for 'Political Solution' between the two states, which compelled Rivers State to return only 50 per cent of oil wells which was transferred from Akwa Ibom to River.”

In the Rivers' suit, all the government agencies listed as defendants, the Attorney General of the Federation, Accountant General of the Federation, Attorney General, Akwa Ibom State, National Boundary Commission and Revenue Allocation Mobilization and Fiscal Commission, have been lining up behind Akwa Ibom in the battle for the oil wells.

For the AGF the return of the oil wells, was lawful and in consonance with the Yar' Adua' administration's respect for rule of law, while the National Boundary Commission, in its submission at the lower court claimed that it acted within its constitutional powers by returning the oil wells that were illegally taken away from Akwa Ibom, with RAMFC saying that the derivation resource that it had been paying to it on the oil wells was legally due the state.

In the suit filed by Cross River, which was mainly to stop Akwa Ibom from further collecting the derivation sources on the 76 oil wells, a huge blow was dealt the plaintiff at the lower court when RMAFC filed and objection to the plaintiff's claim, saying that apart from Akwa Ibom being justifiably paid, the plaintiff might have well kissed its position on the littoral states' list goodbye, and it may have its problem compounded if the N5 billion suit filed against it by Akwa Ibom at the apex court succeeded because RMAFC would be there to deduct the plaintiff's allocation from source if the apex court held that Cross River had been illegally paid the 13 per cent derivation resource on the 76 oil wells before they were taken away from it.

Though many are reading politics into the oil well saga, Ojo maintained that it was all about due process, assuring that nothing like political arrangement would be entertained in the resolution of the matter.
As parties in the controversial oil wells wait on the apex court for adjudication, Akwa Ibom can continue to enjoy the fruit of.