The Cross River State Consultative Forum (CRSCF) has called on Senate President Godswill Akpabio to use his position to help resolve the long-running dispute between Cross River and Akwa Ibom states over offshore oil wells.
The group made the call in a statement following remarks attributed to Akpabio during the 39th anniversary celebration of Akwa Ibom State.
The Forum said the oil-well issue is not just a disagreement between two neighbouring states, but a matter connected to maritime boundaries, technical evidence, derivation revenue and the economic interests of the people of Cross River.
According to the group, Akpabio is in a position to help bring the two sides together because of his position as Senate President and his previous experience as governor of Akwa Ibom State.
The Forum said the matter should be settled through law, scientific evidence and dialogue, rather than political statements or assumptions about the history of the disputed areas.
The dispute dates back to the changes that followed the 2002 International Court of Justice judgment on the Nigeria-Cameroon boundary and the subsequent handover of Bakassi.
Cross River has over the years maintained that it is entitled to derivation revenue from certain offshore oil wells. The state had previously claimed 76 wells, while later technical exercises reportedly produced different figures.
The CRSCF referred to a reported 2025 Inter-Agency Technical Committee exercise which identified 119 crude oil and gas wells as attributable to Cross River, with a recommendation for the state to receive 13 per cent derivation revenue from the wells.
The report was submitted to the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), which indicated that the findings would be subjected to further scrutiny before being forwarded to the Presidency.
The group therefore called on relevant federal agencies, including the National Boundary Commission, RMAFC, the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, to use technical and scientific evidence to establish the actual location and ownership of the disputed wells.
It also noted that different exercises had produced different figures, including 76, 67 and 119 wells, saying this makes a final technical verification important.
The Forum further urged Akpabio to build on previous efforts to bring Governor Bassey Otu of Cross River and Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom together.
It stressed that the goal should not be to create a winner and loser between the two states, but to establish the facts and ensure that the state legally entitled to the derivation revenue receives it.
The CRSCF also appealed for the dispute not to affect the long-standing relationship between the people of Cross River and Akwa Ibom, noting their shared history, culture and economic ties.
The group said a transparent resolution based on verifiable coordinates, official records and applicable law would provide clarity for both states and strengthen confidence in the institutions handling Nigeria's maritime and resource boundaries.
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