A row is brewing between Akwa Ibom and Rivers states over some oil wells.
The wells are located in Opbo, a border community between the two neigbouring states.
The Akwa Ibom StateDeputy Governor, Mr Patrick Ekpotu, who is the chairman of the state boundary commission, blamed former President Olusegun Obasanjo for “wrongly” ceding the wells to Rivers State in what he described as irregular boundary demarcation.
The Akwa Ibom State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Chief Victor Iyanam, said the matter had been taken to the Federal High Court for adjudication.
The state, he assured, would do its best to get justice in the matter, which is generating tension between the two states.
There is apprehension at the home front that the problem, coupled with the falling oil prices may affect the implementation of the 2009 budget.
The N195.3billion budget has been sliced by 40 percent compared to the N265 billion appropriated for last year.
The budget was pegged at $45 dollars per barrel as the Federal Government’s.
With the fall in the price of crude oil, it is expected that the state’s revenue portfolio, especially from the federation account would dip.
Besides, the position of Akwa Ibom as the second largest crude producer in the Niger Delta would be affected “if Rivers State continues to maintain the oil wells”.
Although the Finance Commissioner, Mr. Bassey Akpan, said the state was expecting a drop in revenue from the federation account because of the global oil crisis, he was quick to point out that it would fall back on its reserves and excess crude fund to cushion the shortfall.
“We are expecting a drop in revenue from the federation account and if the oil problem persists, we have over N40billion leftover of last year’s budget, which we can fall back on and still implement the budget,” Akpan said
According to him, the state hit the N1billion mark in internally generated revenue last year.
Akpan said the budget was designed to complete some old projects, such as water, electricity and roads in anticipation of the drop in oil revenue.