Port Harcourt — Tension between Rivers and Bayelsa over ownership of certain oil wells heightened yesterday as the two states stuck to their grounds, a day after the Kalabari people alleged moves to annex five oil communities into President Jonathan’s home state.
Billions of naira in derivation cash is at stake in the battle for the oil-rich areas between the two states. Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson yesterday said the disputed oil wells do not belong to Rivers and that his state was only trying to reclaim what belonged to it in the first place.
Dickson, through his spokesman Daniel Iworiso-Markson, said by the 11th edition of the administrative map of Nigeria published in 2000, Bayelsa is entitled to derivation and other claims from crude oil production in the disputed wells because they fall within its borders.
“The government of Rivers State has been receiving derivation revenue over several oil facilities and installations which are clearly within Bayelsa territory from 1999 till date in spite of the clear boundary delineation in the said map,” Iworiso-Markson said in a statement.
“The facts remain that all the relevant maps–the administrative map of Nigeria 10th edition produced in 1992 and the 11th edition produced in 2000–were clearly produced long before Dr. Goodluck Jonathan became the Vice President and later President,” he added.
But the Rivers State Information commissioner Mrs Ibim Semenatari insisted that the disputed oil wells were Rivers’.
She told Daily Trust that the Kalabari people were merely asking Bayelsa State to obey the Supreme Court judgment that directed that the mistake in the 12th edition of the map should be corrected.
Semenatari said the National Boundary Commission confirmed making a mistake in the 12th edition of the map which the Supreme Court ordered to be rectified.
In its statement yesterday, the Bayelsa state government said its attempt to benefit from the disputed oil deposits did not mean it wanted to annex parts of Rivers State as the Kalabari people alleged on Monday.
“Whereas the claim of a state is based on territorial boundaries contained in the administrative map, that of a clan, family and community is based on traditional history, possession and other forms of ownership,” Iworiso-Markson said.