…Give FG 14-Day Ultimatum
A coalition of over 50 civil society organisations under the aegis of the Coalition for the Protection of Democracy in Nigeria (CPDN) has raised alarm over what it described as administrative treason and the erosion of Nigeria’s territorial integrity, allegedly to the detriment of Cross River State.
Addressing a press briefing on Monday in Abuja, the convener of the coalition, Dr Gabriel Nwambu, accused officials of the National Boundary Commission (NBC) of manipulating Nigeria’s internal and international boundaries for parochial interests, with far-reaching implications for national security.
Reading from a statement titled “Administrative Treason and the Erosion of Nigeria’s Territorial Integrity — A Clarion Call for Justice for Cross River State,” Nwambu said the coalition had uncovered what it called a systematic and illegal distortion of official maps between 2004 and 2008, allegedly carried out without the consent or knowledge of Cross River State.
According to him, while past state creations such as Delta from Bendel and Bayelsa from Rivers were resolved through amicable settlements, the boundary dispute between Akwa Ibom and Cross River States represents a dangerous departure from democratic norms.
The coalition alleged that the 10th Edition of Nigeria’s Administrative Map, which it said aligns with the Oil Well Dichotomy Map of July 5, 2004, was clandestinely altered multiple times within four years. These changes, CPDN claimed, resulted in the diversion of over 76 oil wells from Cross River to Akwa Ibom, leaving the Calabar Geological Flank, historically said to host over 1,000 wells, officially recorded with zero oil wells.
Nwambu further alleged that the altered coordinates effectively blocked maritime access to the Calabar Basin, a route protected under the 1913 Anglo-German Agreement, and posed a grave international risk by shifting Nigeria’s maritime boundary.
He warned that if the disputed 2008 dichotomy map is allowed to stand, Nigeria could lose about 780 hectares of territorial waters and at least 28 oil wells to the Republic of Cameroon, not due to the International Court of Justice ruling on Bakassi, but as a result of internal administrative fraud.
The coalition also cautioned that Cross River risks becoming a “new Ogoni Land,” bearing the environmental consequences of oil exploration—such as spills and gas flaring—without receiving any derivation revenue to address the damage.
CPDN therefore called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to take urgent action, including the arrest and prosecution of alleged perpetrators within the NBC, the nullification of the 2008 map, reconstitution of the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) inter-agency committee to ensure fairness, and the protection of Nigeria’s maritime territory from further losses.
In its conclusion, the coalition gave the Federal Government a 14-day ultimatum to address the issues raised, warning that failure to do so would trigger sustained civil actions to reclaim what it described as the “stolen heritage” of the Cross River people.