Imo moves to recover disputed oil wells from Rivers

By DAMIAN DURUIHEOMA, Owerri

The efforts of the government of Senator Hope Uzodinma to boost the economy of Imo State has received a huge boost following the move by the government to recover some oil wells wrongly ceded to Rivers State.

Imo and her neighboring Rivers have been in a protracted battle over oil wells belonging to the state but for which Rivers State receives monthly allocation and other benefits.

It was gathered that the Rivers State government had frustrated previous efforts to resolve the issue, leading to the decision of the Imo State government under Uzodimma to intensify efforts towards recovering the oil wells through legal means.

Last Thursday, the deputy governor of Imo State, Prof. Placid Njoku, led a team of state officials to appear before the National Boundary Commission and submitted sensitive documents, including the survey plan of the state, with which to reclaim the disputed oil wells.

According to a release issued by the deputy governor’s media assistant, Ozioma Ukwuoma, the documents were submitted to the National Boundary Commission in the presence of the Surveyor-General of the Federation, Surveyor Samuel Adeniran, and the Director-General of the National Boundary Commission, Surveyor Adaji Adamu.

Prof. Njoku, who is also the chairman of the Imo State Boundary Commission, was quoted to have urged the commission “to rise to the occasion and give justice to the people of Imo State, who have suffered untold hardship over the years as a result of the brazen denial of their God-given wealth which should have been used for their development but had been in the hands of the wrong state”.

Njoku stated that “the impact of recovering lost oil wells back to the state would become one of the greatest economic development strategy tools deployed in the last 30 years in Imo State as it would usher in increased fiscal and non fiscal revenue, increased foreign direct investment (FDI), increased local content participation that create thousands of job opportunities for Imo people as well as increase the influence of the state as an oil producing state”.

The delegation included the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Barr C.O.C Akolisa, the Special Adviser and Coordinator Oil and Gas, Rt. Hon. Goodluck Nanah Opiah, Oil and Gas expert, Dr. Chioma Njoku, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Lands, Survey and Physical Planning, Surveyor Uzoma John, and the Surveyor General of the State, Surveyor C.A.P. Anele. (The Nation)

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