The Archbishop of Calabar and Visionary, Cross River Destiny Project Council, Josef Bassey, has revealed that 245 oil wells in Cross River State, confirmed by a 2025 federal scientific review, expose 18 years of falsehoods that stripped the state of its rightful revenue.

Archbishop Bassey condemned the 2008 provisional map by the National Boundary Commission as a “weapon” that erased the state’s economic presence.

He disclosed this in Calabar while shedding light on the renewed quest by the Federal Government, through its agencies, to remap states and address disputes over the location of oil wells.

According to the Archbishop, “I stand before you as the Archbishop of Calabar, and as a witness to the slow bleeding of the land.

“For nearly eighteen years, Cross River State was officially recorded as having zero oil wells. While 245 oil wells drilled, pumped, and sustained the Nigerian economy from within our territory.

“This was the deliberate weakening of a people, until the state became trapped in survival mode.

“The weapon used was a so-called 2008 ‘provisional’ map issued by the National Boundary Commission. A document that was never finalised, never authenticated, never scientific and never lawful.

“Yet for almost two decades, this administrative ghost was treated as superior to physical coordinates, satellite wellhead positioning, subsurface reservoir continuity and Nigeria’s official geodetic framework.

“In November 2025, Nigeria’s own Inter-Agency Committee on Maritime Boundaries, using official national geodetic data, satellite positioning, and subsurface reservoir analysis confirmed the truth that the state has 245 verified oil wells.

“Over 42 of these wells sit on subsurface structures contiguous with Cameroon and, by refusing to correct this injustice, Nigeria risks transboundary disputes,” he said.

Archbishop Bassey said this provisional sketch was weaponised to erase the state from the economic map of the nation.

He disclosed that, as a result of this, the state endured wounds that numbers alone cannot explain.

He appealed to the president to reverse this injustice and demonstrate that Nigeria does not reward theft, does not protect falsehood, and does not punish loyalty.

He also appealed to the president to replace the fraudulent 2008 model with the 2025 verified dataset, address the transboundary risks created by this injustice and ensure judicial finality to the oil wells dispute. (The Sun)

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