FG paid N17bn Rivers money to Bayelsa — Amaechi

November 1, 2012 by Chukwudi Akasike, Mike Odiegwu, Mudiaga Affe and Sodiq Oyeleke 

 

Rivers State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi
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AS anxiety over the alleged ceding of oil wells continues to mount, the Rivers State Government on Wednesday accused the Federal Government of paying the sum of N17bn belonging to Rivers to Bayelsa State.

The money, according to sources, was expected to remain in a special account until the land/oil well dispute between Rivers and Bayelsa states was resolved.

Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, who addressed over 35 monarchs and indigenes of Kalabari Kingdom at the Government House in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, also accused Federal Government agencies, including the National Boundary Commission, of trying to pervert justice in the boundary dispute.

Amaechi, represented by the Deputy Chief Tele Ikuru called on the National Assembly to come to the aide of the state.

The governor maintained that Soku belonged to Kalabari Kingdom.

He said, “The issue of Soku has been very disturbing to the Rivers State Government. We woke up one day to hear that some oil wells in Soku have been ceded to Bayelsa State.

“We all decided that if we have dispute over the territory, put the money accruing from there into an escrow account. We woke up one day again and the whole money in the escrow account has been given to one party – Bayelsa State.

“As a matter of fact, as I speak to you now, N17bn rightfully accruing to Rivers State has been paid to Bayelsa State.

“Other federal agencies are not helping matters at all. From all indications, all federal agencies we have approached over this issue have all kept deaf ears. The whole world knows that Soku has been part of Rivers State from time immemorial.”

However, the Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr. Seriake Dickson, faulted the claims of Amaechi, saying Rivers position was not supported by law.

Dickson said it was unfortunate that Rivers State was dissipating its energy arguing on a matter that had been resolved in favour of Bayelsa State by the Supreme Court.

Dickson, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, said the “facts on the matter speak for themselves”.

He said, “The government of Bayelsa State has sufficiently made its stand known on the matter. And our stand is duly backed up by law. The law, as we know it, deals with facts and concrete evidence.

“On the issue of ownership and the claim by the Rivers State Government to Sokou Oil wells, I believe it is no longer news that Rivers State Government took Bayelsa State Government to the Federal High Court on this same issue and lost.

“Instead of appealing the matter in the Appeal Court, the Rivers State Government invoked the constitutional provision and filed a suit in the Supreme Court in 2011 and this year, the Supreme Court upheld Bayelsa State position.”

Meanwhile, Chairman of the South-South Governors Forum, Senator Liyel Imoke, kept mute over the oil wells dispute between Rivers and Bayelsa states.

A text message sent to the governor’s phone at about 5pm, seeking to find out if he (Imoke) would intervene in the matter was not responded to.

When contacted, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Christian Ita, said Cross River State had no comment on the issue.

Our correspondent gathered from a government source that the state was not interested in the matter because when Cross River State had an issue with Akwa Ibom over the disputed 76 oil wells that were later conceded, following the Supreme Court ruling, no other state from the South-South region intervened.

Also, the Ijaw Legacy Group, based in the United Kingdom, has condemned the protest by chiefs and elders of Kalabari clan over an alleged plot by Bayelsa State Government to annex part of Rivers State.

The group in a statement by its President, Columbus Peterside, said the action of the elders was aimed at destabilising peace in the region.

He said, “We wish to strongly condemn the recent street protest in Abuja by some chiefs and elders of Kalabari clan led by Chief Graham Douglas. The situation, if unchecked, does portend far-reaching implications, especially in undermining the fragile peace currently prevailing in the Niger Delta today.”

SOURCE: The Punch - Nigeria's Most Widely Read Newspaper 1 November 2012.