Nigeria, Feb. 22 -- The long-running dispute over offshore oil wells between Akwa Ibom and Cross River states has resurfaced, with both states restating opposing legal and political positions - Akwa Ibom denying any reallocation of the oil wells and Cross River insisting it must not be denied "its rights".

Akwa Ibom officials dismissed reports suggesting oil wells attributed to the state would be returned to Cross River, while Governor Bassey Otu of Cross River maintained that "fairness must prevail" in the aftermath of the Bakassi Peninsula's cession to Cameroon.

Addressing journalists in Uyo, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Akwa Ibom, Uko Udom, SAN, said the controversy stemmed from misinterpretation of a draft re...