The Governor of Cross River State, Senator Bassey Otu, had said that the position of the government and the legislature in the state is that Bakassi must not be ‘allowed to go like that’. He revealed this during a live interview on a national televeison in Abuja. Yesterdaythe Governor also vowed to ensure that the ceding of Bakassi to Cameroon was revisited by the federal government, maintaining that any decision taken by any party to the dispute must be mutually agreed upon.
Speaking on Arise Television, Otu stressed that aside the fact that some Bakassi ancestors were buried in the land in the area in dispute, Nigeria lost some soldiers who were on the frontline to ensure that Bakassi remained a Nigerian territory.
He argued that the consent of the people was not sought before the land was handed over to the new owners, explaining that as a bold and courageous leader, he had no doubt that President Bola Tinubu will take up the matter at the appropriate time.
In October 2002, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivered a judgment being the consequence of a suit instituted in 1995 by the Republic of Cameroun claiming sovereignty over the oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula.
But Otu maintained that it wasn’t a closed case, insisting that the complexity involved in the matter which favoured Cameroon at the time, is not something to be accepted wholesale.
“ Yes, it’s not a closed case because it’s not something that we can accept and walk away. Our ancestors are buried in those areas. We lost our soldiers who were defending the frontline in trying to make sure that Bakassi remained a Nigerian territory.
“And if for whatever reason, it must be handed over, I believe that the consent of the people should be sought and due process should have been followed. But it was not followed. And those are issues that you cannot sweep under the carpet.
“Because if we do, what are we going to tell the next generation, that it was in this generation that our assets, our land, and everything was forcefully taken? That has impoverished us to the limit that we are struggling. And when we look at our state, it’s quite a rich state,” the governor added.
Whichever way it goes, the governor insisted that the case must end in a mutual understanding, where the grievances of the people must be assuaged. He noted that the position of the government and the legislature in the state is that Bakassi must not be ‘allowed to go like that’.
“I agree that we cannot do it alone. We are discussing with the federal government, and it is not unmindful of the fact that we are suffering seriously because of the actions and decisions which were taken by the federal government.
“ They know very well the pains. And we have a president that is down to earth, a president that is courageous and strong. A president that can take decisions. And this president also believes in people first. That is why he’s trying to mitigate and ameliorate the problems of Nigeria amid the policies that he’s entrenching in the system,“ he added.
He expressed the belief that the federal government and the international community will be on the side of Bakassi people, stressing that although he wasn’t giving deadlines, it will be very difficult to sleep without the people being rightly treated.
On the 76 oil wells that were taken from the state, Otu stated that it had made things very tough for the state, insisting that it’s an issue that the state is still working on.
“We believe that sooner or later justice will be done, because actually we have oil in Cross River State. And besides that, it doesn’t mean that we’ll lose our oil wells.
“And then at no time was there a referendum that Bakassi should be ceded to whatever authorities. So we believe that in terms of getting our assets back, that we will do. And then we are still talking with the federal government and even the international community to see what adequate compensation can be done.
“There was something like stabilisation which was used to augment, but for a long time, we’ve not seen that again. It’s one of the items that we will be renewing very soon to make sure that it comes on board. But besides that, it’s been very tough for us, because the earlier expenditures by my predecessors were based on the fact that we had 76 oil wells to leverage on,” he stressed.
Despite the challenges, the governor said the state has doubled its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and was ensuring transparency and accountability in its operations.
