Author: Gist Newspaper

Cross River State is set to reclaim its status as an oil-producing state following the submission of the Federal Government’s Inter-Agency Committee report to the Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).

The report, covering 2017–2025, was handed over to RMAFC Chairman Mr. M. B. Shehu on Friday, February 13, 2026. Observers say it marks a turning point in Nigeria’s fiscal federalism and could spark a new economic era for the state.

The committee verified over 1,000 crude oil and gas coordinates nationwide, resolving long-standing boundary overlaps in states including Rivers–Akwa Ibom, Delta–Edo, and Akwa Ibom–Cross River. Its work combined field inspections, hydrographic validation, and technical reconciliation of data.

Shehu described the exercise as “rigorous, technical, and nationally significant,” emphasizing that it was far from a desk study. “The science speaks for itself,” he said.

For Cross River, the report projects more than 100 oil wells, especially from OML 114 in its maritime territory, enough to restore its oil-producing status for the first time since 2008. Some wells remain attributed to Akwa Ibom pending judicial review, but experts insist Cross River’s geological evidence is “beyond reasonable doubt.”

The verification process involved 12 states, including Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Ondo, Imo, Anambra, and Abia. The committee drew members from RMAFC, the National Boundary Commission, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, the Surveyor-General’s Office, the Nigerian Hydrographic Agency, and security agencies.

Stakeholders say Cross River’s reinstatement is not just administrative—it represents “economic justice, constitutional equity, and historical truth.”

RMAFC now awaits President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s approval for implementation. Once granted, the commission will convene a plenary session to operationalize the new oil-well attributions and officially update Nigeria’s list of oil-producing states.

This development ends years of advocacy and scientific validation by Cross River, finally placing it back on the nation’s oil map.