The All Progressives Congress (APC) Media Network on Tuesday dismissed fresh arguments backing Cross River State’s claim to Akwa Ibom oil wells, insisting that no scientific theory can override subsisting Supreme Court judgments on the dispute.

In a statement signed by its Director General, Otuekong Iniobong John, the group said attempts to anchor the claim on petroleum geology were misplaced, stressing that the issue had been conclusively settled by the courts.

The reaction may not be unconnected with a recent position canvassed by John Gaul Lebo of the Cross River Economic Intelligence Team, who argued that derivation should be based on reservoir continuity, declaring that “oil flows from reservoirs, not from maps.”

But the APC Media Network countered that while geology may guide petroleum science, Nigeria’s legal framework remains supreme in determining ownership and derivation rights, adding that “no theory, however sound, can displace the authority of a final judgment of the Supreme Court.”

It maintained that the dispute was conclusively determined by the Supreme Court of Nigeria and reaffirmed after the ruling of the International Court of Justice on the Nigeria–Cameroon boundary, which, it said, extinguished Cross River’s claim to a seaward boundary and offshore derivation.

Citing Section 235 of the Constitution, the group stressed that apex court decisions are final and binding, noting that no committee or agency, including the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, can sit in appeal over them, while also clarifying that the document before the commission remains a draft report.

The Network commended Governor Umo Eno and the state’s Attorney General, Uko Udom (SAN), for what it described as firm and constitutionally grounded defence of Akwa Ibom’s interests, and therefore urged stakeholders to rally behind the government to safeguard the state’s economic lifeline.