The Cross River State delegation has refuted claims that it staged a walkout from the Federal Government Inter-Agency Technical Committee investigating the disputed and newly drilled oil and gas wells involving Cross River and Akwa Ibom states.

Speaking on behalf of the delegation, former Speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly, John Gaul Lebo, clarified that the team remained present and instead insisted that proceedings should continue, despite a protest by Akwa Ibom indigenes in Abuja prior to the meeting.

In a statement issued yesterday, Lebo explained that reports suggesting a walkout were misleading. He said the sitting was briefly halted after the acting chairman of the committee, Aliyu Almakura Abdulkadir, representing the Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), announced a temporary suspension of the report presentation.

According to him, the Cross River delegation objected to the suspension and formally requested that the session proceed, a position the committee accepted. During the presentation, the appointed surveyor reportedly used newly generated coordinates to clearly define both land and maritime boundaries between the two states, reaffirming existing boundary demarcations.

Lebo said the process was later disrupted when the Surveyor-General of Akwa Ibom State, Surv. Emem Isang, claimed that Akwa Ibom does not share a maritime boundary with Cross River State. This assertion, he noted, was strongly challenged by the Cross River delegation, leading to a protest within the meeting as the Akwa Ibom team stalled the proceedings.

Due to the escalating disagreement, the sitting was adjourned and suspended to a later date, pending the return of the substantive chairman of the commission, Dr Mohammed Bello Shehu, who is expected to oversee the final presentation of the report to the affected states.

Lebo maintained that a clearly defined maritime boundary exists between both states, adding that the committee’s findings had validated this position, which he had earlier presented in a petition to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“For the avoidance of doubt, at no time did the Cross River State delegation walk out of the meeting. We remained fully engaged and participated actively until the official suspension of the sitting,” he stressed.

He further disclosed that the delegation was led by the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Emmanuel Ironbar, and the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Ededem Ani, alongside other senior officials and stakeholders.

Addressing members of the delegation, Ironbar reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to due process, constructive engagement, and peaceful resolution of boundary disputes in accordance with constitutional and legal provisions.

He also urged the public and media organisations to rely on verified information and uphold professionalism in their reporting, in the interest of peace, unity, and responsible journalism.