S/Court judgment on oil wells: Don’t jubilate yet, Uzodinma tells Rivers

Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma says it is too early to jubilate over Friday’s Supreme Court’s judgement that confirmed the Rivers State’s ownership of 17 oil wells situated in Akri and Mbede communities.

He said this while addressing journalists in Lagos Sunday.

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He said the appeal filed by the Rivers State Government only succeeded partially.

Uzodinma said his government would await the full details of the judgment before deciding the next line of action.

The governor hinted that his administration might apply for a review of the judgment.

 “Until we see the details, if there are areas that are not clear, we can apply for a review,” he said.

On the forthcoming 2023 general elections, Uzodinma said the South East “is in “strong hunger to produce the president of Nigeria.”

According to the governor, “There is a national sympathy for the South East to produce the president. What will make it work is for the two leading political parties to produce candidates from the South East geopolitical zone.

“Let PDP produce a southeasterner as their presidential candidate. Let APC also produce a southeasterner as their presidential candidate.

“With this, we would have centralised this power-sharing in a manner that it has become all-inclusive and justice and equity would have been seen to be done.”

Uzodinma commended President Muhammadu Buhari whom he said had been very supportive to his administration in the last two years.

The governor also explained that he had not named those behind insecurity in Imo State because the security agencies pleaded with him to allow them to conclude their investigations.

Uzodinma had claimed that politicians against the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) were behind the killings and maiming in the state and vowed to name them.

He said immediately he cried out that he had identified the politicians fueling insecurity in the state, the security agencies called him and pleaded with him that they were already investigating.

He assured that in the next two weeks, the names of the sponsors would be revealed when the security agencies would have completed their investigation.

 “The last time I contacted them (security agencies) a few days ago, they requested for two more weeks. I do hope that in two weeks, the report would be ready and then it would be made public to Nigerians,” he said.