Governor Bassey Otu of Cross River State has vowed to recover all 76 oil wells the state lost to Akwa Ibom through a Supreme Court judgement in 2012.
Otu who made the vow on Tuesday, during a media conference in Calabar, said the process of recovering the oil wells is already on.
During the judgement, Justice Olufunlola Adekeye, who read the lead judgment, which was unanimous, dismissed the appeal by Cross River against the Appeal Court ruling, ceding the oil wells to Akwa Ibom state.
He noted that the appeal lacked in substance and merit, even as he insisted that the agreement which initially gave the State rights to the 76 oil wells was upturned by the handing over of Bakassi to Cameroon.
Otu, however, disclosed that he had taken up the fight to recover what rightfully belonged to the state with the knowledge that the disputed oil wells were wrongly ceded to Akwa Ibom.
“I am happy to let us know that even though we have not received anything money from the wells, Akwa Ibom is also not getting anything for now from it.
“While decision is yet to be made on where the wells rightfully belonged, the proceeds from it is being kept in escrow account by the authority,” he explained.
