The Cross River State chapter of the Association of Local Government Chairmen of Nigeria, ALGON, has described recent remarks credited to the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, that Cross River State is landlocked and non littoral as regrettable, inflammatory and unbecoming of the leader of the nation’s legislative chamber.
Chairman of the association, Hon. Yibala Inyang, said Cross River’s maritime connection had long been established by geographical facts and international maritime evidence.
Speaking in a telephone interview, Inyang said Akpabio’s remarks during the anniversary celebration of Akwa Ibom State were unfortunate, arguing that the occasion should have been used to celebrate the longstanding ties between the two neighbouring states.
“It is regrettable that an anniversary celebration of the creation of Akwa Ibom State, carved out of Cross River, was used to launch scathing attacks on the mother state which birthed Akwa Ibom, rather than celebrating the age long affinities which bind the two states,” he said.
Inyang said statements from the Senate President should be guided by restraint, fairness and responsibility, particularly on issues capable of affecting relations between neighbouring states.
“His utterances should therefore be predicated on verifiable facts and empirical evidence rather than impulsive outbursts intended for personal aggrandisement or bloated ego,” he said.
The ALGON chairman acknowledged the 2012 Supreme Court judgment involving Cross River, the Federal Government and Akwa Ibom State following the ceding of Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon, which resulted in Cross River losing its claim to 76 offshore oil wells.
He, however, maintained that the judgment should not be interpreted as erasing the state’s geographical connection to the Atlantic Ocean through the Cross River Estuary and Calabar River system.
According to him, ongoing technical processes concerning the state’s maritime boundaries and offshore resources should be allowed to run their course, with relevant federal agencies relying on verifiable evidence in determining the issues.
Inyang also cited Governor Bassey Otu’s recent training of 2,000 Cross River youths in oil and gas skills as evidence of the state’s preparedness to participate in emerging opportunities in the sector.
“Cross River is not asking for what does not belong to her. We are asking that the facts be established through the appropriate institutions and that the people of Cross River receive what is legitimately due to them,” he said.
Inyang, who is also Chairman of Yakurr Local Government Area, urged political leaders across the Niger Delta to exercise statesmanship and refrain from statements capable of creating tension between neighbouring states.
He reaffirmed the support of the 18 local government chairmen for Governor Otu’s pursuit of Cross River’s maritime and oil interests through constitutional, legal and institutional channels.
He also called on stakeholders in the state to remain united, stressing that geographical evidence and ongoing technical processes should guide efforts to resolve the littoral question.This headline gives the story a firmer newspaper tone while keeping the central claim direct and concise.
