Cross River Deputy Governor Decries Neglect of Bakassi Peninsula

The Deputy Governor of Cross River State, Peter Odey, has condemned what he described as the “unholy” and “unjust” neglect of displaced residents from the Bakassi Peninsula, urging the federal government and relevant agencies to take immediate steps to address their plight. Odey, who spoke in Calabar on Monday during separate stakeholder engagements, said thousands of Bakassi indigenes have continued to endure poor living conditions and lack access to basic services more than a decade after the ceding of the peninsula to Cameroon. He stressed that the welfare of the displaced persons must take priority over political rhetoric. “It is unholy and unjust that citizens who have sacrificed so much for this country remain without decent shelter, education, healthcare, or livelihood opportunities,” Odey stated, appealing to non-governmental organisations and development partners to complement government efforts. The deputy governor’s remarks come amid renewed agitation by the Indigenous Displaced People of Bakassi Communities (IDPBC), which earlier this year petitioned the presidency to remove Bakassi from Nigeria’s list of 774 local government areas — a move the Cross River State House of Assembly has firmly rejected, describing it as dangerous and divisive. The Bakassi Peninsula dispute, settled by the International Court of Justice in 2002 and formalised under the Greentree Agreement, led to the displacement of thousands of residents. Many of them remain resettled in parts of Cross River State without adequate compensation, housing, or infrastructure. Odey called for a coordinated action plan that would include proper resettlement, fair compensation, secure land titles, and economic empowerment programmes for the affected communities. He also urged the federal government to revisit the economic losses suffered by Cross River following the ceding of Bakassi, including the alleged loss of oil wells. Stakeholders say the deputy governor’s intervention has brought fresh urgency to the long-running humanitarian crisis, but whether it will lead to concrete policy action remains to be seen.