Date Published: 04/29/09

Suffering Cross River State

Dear Sir,

CROSS RIVER NO MORE OIL-PRODUCING STATE?

As Governor Imoke was with his entire cabinet for a retreat in Akwa Ibom State early month of May 2009, it was not known to the public that he had been deprived the status of oil-producing State. He had few days to the visit, gone to the court to contest the 76-oil-wells which were ceded to Akwa Ibom, thereby making Cross River no longer an oil producing State.

As far as this is concerned, Governor Imoke exhibited the Fela’s musical number ‘Suffering and Smiling’ as his Akwa Ibom counterpart, Governor Akpabio, hosted him and his cabinet to an elaborate Dinner and where his host may have pretentiously insinuated that Akwa Ibom and Cross River remain sister States. As they say, there is no smoke without fire; it is believed that the Governor of Akwa Ibom State had fought his way to ensure that the oil-wells in question went to his State.

It would be recalled that during the Attah’s regime, the Federal government of Obj reintroduced the abrogated on-shore-of-shore oil dichotomy which left Akwa Ibom out of oil-producing State status. Attah went to court and thereafter political solution was applied. On-shore-off-shore oil dichotomy was abrogated by IBB’s regime when the Lady of Songs, Christy Essien-Igbokwe, MFR, was used to appeal to IBB and that settled the long-suffered agitation by the people of Akwa Ibom.

I pray that a political solution should also apply to see that Cross River regains their 76 oil-wells which have been taken away from them through the back door. The present Akwa Ibom administration also got ceded to it some oil wells from two other neighbouring States within two years past.

Tarilabo Opuaya

388 Aba Road

Rivers State.

tarilaboopuaya@yahoo.com