Politics

Govt Wants Supreme Court To Dismiss Rivers’ Bid To Stop Ceding Of 17 Oil Wells To Imo

Published

3 years ago

September 21, 2021

NewTimes

BREAKING: Supreme Court Rejects Bid To Enforce Zoning Policy In PDP

The dispute over the gownership of 17 oil wells has deepened as the Federal Government, on Tuesday, urged the Supreme Court to dismiss a suit that the Rivers State government filed to stop it from ceding the oil wells to Imo.

In processes it filed through the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, the government further prayed the apex court to vacate an order of injunction it issued on July 14, which stopped the process of ceding the oil wells located at Akri and Mbede, to Imo State.

The apex court had in an earlier chamber ruling it delivered in the matter, ordered the FG and its agencies to halt actions pertaining to an alleged plan to cede the oil wells to Imo state, pending the determination of the suit that was brought before it by the Rivers state government.

The ruling followed an ex-parte application Rivers State argued through its lawyer, Mr. Emmanuel Ukala, SAN.

The Supreme Court specifically restrained the AGF and the Attorney General of Imo state from taking any further action on the ownership of the disputed 17 oil wells, pending a resolution of legal issues sorrounding its ownership.

It further barred the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and the Fiscal Commission )RMAFC) and the office of the Accountant General of the Federation from approving, implementing, or giving effect in any manner to a letter from RMAFC office, with reference number RMC/O&G/47/1/264, dated July 1, 2021, which canceled the equal sharing of proceeds from the 17 oil wells by Rivers and Imo states.

At the resumed proceedings in the matter on Tuesday, FG’s lawyer, Dr. Remi Olatubura, SAN) and that of Imo state, Chief Olusola Oke (SAN) who are 1st and 2nd defendants in the matter, made their formal appearances in the case.

While FG said it filed a counter-affidavit against the writ of summons, Rivers State lodged with respect to the disputed oil wells, on its part, Imo state said it also filed a motion on notice to query the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to hear the case as a court of first instance.

Counsel to Imo state, Mr. Oke, SAN, contended that since Rivers State brought the suit to challenge the action of some federal government agencies and not the FG itself, the matter ought to have been instituted before a Federal High Court instead of the Supreme Court.

Responding, lead counsel to Rivers state, government Mr Joseph Daudu (SA), asked for seven days to file his reply on points of law to the motions by the two defendants.

Consequently, a seven-man panel of Justices of the apex court led by Justice Kekere Ekun, adjourned the case till November 1 to hear all the pending motions.

The panel directed all the parties to ensure that they filed and exchanged all relevant processes before the next adjourned date.

Rivers State is in its suit, seeking a declaration that the boundary between it and Imo State, as delineated on Nigeria administrative map 10, 11 and 12 editions and other maps bearing similar delineations, are inaccurate, incorrect and do not represent the legitimate and lawful boundaries between Rivers and Imo State.

The plaintiff is further seeking a declaration that as far as Nigeria’s administrative map 10, 11 and 12 editions and other maps bearing similar delineations, relate to the boundaries between Rivers and Imo, the said maps are unlawful and void, cannot be relied on to determine the extent of the territorial governmental jurisdiction of Rivers state and to determine the revenue accuring to Rivers state from the federation account, including the application of the principle of derivation and other revenue allocation principles as contained in the 1999 Constitution.

It further applied for a declaration of the Supreme Court that the correct instrument maps and documents to be relied on in determining the boundary between Rivers and Imo States, are those used by the plaintiff in delineating the boundary line between Rivers and Imo states.

The plaintiff is also seeking a declaration that all the oil wells within Akri and Mbede communities are wrongly attributed to Imo State and that they are all oil wells within the territory of Rivers Statet

It maintained that only Rivers State is entitled to receive the full allocation of the distributable revenue from the oil wells on the basis of the 1390 derivation as contained under section 162 of the 1999 constitution.

The plaintiff is urging the court to issue an order of mandatory injunction, directing the AGF to calculate, to its satisfaction, and refund to it all revenue that has been wrongly attributed to or paid to Imo state on account of the limit or extent of their territories, including earnings due to it from revenue derived from Akri and Mbede oil wells.

It further wants an order of injunction directing the AGF to withdraw from circulation its administrative map 10,11 and 12th editions and to refrain from relying on any of the said maps for the purpose of determining the boundary between Rivers and Imo state.

As well as an order of mandatory injunction directing AGF to produce administrative map bearing the correct boundary between Rivers and Imo state.

Rivers State is equally praying the apex court to award it the sum of N500million as litigation cost.

Read more authentic news on our social media platforms

Politics

BREAKING: PDP Wins, Clears All 30 Councils In Osun Poll

Published

2 weeks ago

February 22, 2025

NewTimes

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Saturday emerged the winner for the election for all the chairmanship and councillorship seats in all the 30 local government areas of Osun State.

The election was held on Saturday.

The Chairman of the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission, Hashim Abioye, announced the results at a press conference in Osogbo, the state capital on Saturday evening.

Politics

Bisi Akande Drags Obasanjo Into Bola Ige’s Murder

Published

1 month ago

February 1, 2025

NewTimes

By John Michael Ojo

Bisi Akande, a former governor of Osun State, has alleged that the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo was responsible for the brutal killing of erstwhile Attorney General of the Federation, Chief Bola Ige.

Akande stated this while appearing on Edmund Obilo’s podcast, State Affairs, where he also claimed that a friend Oluwole Rotimi, had given a hint on the impending danger if the deceased resigned from President Obasanjo’s government.

When asked to speak on the incident, the former interim Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), said: “One evening, he (Ige) called me and said he was going to resign from this government tomorrow. It was sudden, and I said, ‘Please sir, I will come back to you.’ I called Oluwole Rotimi, and said this is what your friend told me: that he was going to resign from Obasanjo’s government tomorrow.

READ ALSO: South-West Governors, Tinubu, Akande, Akinrinade, Others To Meet Over State Of The Nation

“He asked me to advise him not to resign because if he does, he is likely going to die—he said that to me on the phone. I called Uncle (Ige) and begged him not to resign.

“He said he had talked to Wole Soyinka and Bola Tinubu, and both of them said he should resign. But I said, ‘Don’t. You can go to Obasanjo, tell him what you are angry about, and if he doesn’t want you anymore, here is your letter.’”

Akande who also claimed that Ige, a Second Republic Governor of Oyo State had issues bordering on trust with the then President said “Since he was resigning from his government, I think he stopped trusting him.”

However, Akande who was the governor of a neighbouring state when Ige was assassinated in Oyo State on the 23rd of December 2001, failed to provide names of those he felt were directly involved in the murder case.

“I don’t know. He was killed in Oyo State while I was ruling in Osun State. The government killed him (Bola Ige). It was a state murder.

“Lam Adesina, who was the Chief Security Officer of Oyo State then, went to court, and Ladoja withdrew the case from court. He might know more and be able to tell you.

READ ALSO: Adebanjo Wants EFCC To Probe Sources Of Wealth Of Tinubu, Akande

“It was the government that killed him, and the government can kill anybody.

“Obasanjo wasn’t keen about Ige’s death; he was more interested in the stability of himself,” Akande maintained.

Read more authentic news on our social media platforms

Politics

LG Election: Opposition Parties On Holiday, APC Remains Party to Beat – Abiodun

Published

4 months ago

November 10, 2024

NewTimes

My Dad Asked Me To Prioritise Civil Servants, Pensioners, Teachers - Abiodun

Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun

Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun has declared that based on the performance of his administration in the last five years, opposition parties are clearly unpopular and invisible in the forthcoming local government election.

The governor added that the quality of candidates the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is presenting in the election would make it the party to beat with landslide victory in all the 20 Local Government Areas of the State.

Speaking through his Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Hon. Kayode Akinmade, over the weekend, Prince Abiodun explained that his administration has changed the hitherto volatile political environment in the state and made it conducive for opposition parties to operate without hindrance or intimidation.

According to him, instead of the primordial machinery of intimidation, his administration has dwarfed the opposition parties in the state through sterling performance and creative ideas for development.

Governor Abiodun, therefore, urged members of APC in the state to show more commitment and work in harmony to sustain the feats already attained in the past years and ensure resounding victory during the November 16 local government poll.

“With the quality of candidates our party is presenting in the forthcoming local government election in the State, APC remains a part to beat; we have assiduously and consistently made remarkable impacts in the life of our people and this is indeed our selling point.

“Without going through the primordial route of physical intimidation of opposition parties, our administration has obviously silenced them by our intimidating projects, creative ideas and prudence, which have earned us a leading status among other federating units.

“It is now incumbent on every APC member across the 20 Local Government Areas to sustain the enviable feats our party has recorded in the last five years by showing more commitment and work in unison for the victory of our party come November 16,” Abiodun said.