The dispute over the ownership of the land between two communities in Akwa-Ibom State is threatening the BUA refinery and petrochemical complex with the Ekid people insisting that the Stubbs Creeks Forest, where the project is located is their territory and not of their Ibeno neighbours.

Promoted by AbdulSamad Rabiu, a philanthropist and industrialist, the BUA refinery and petrochemical project is located off the Atlantic Coast in the Stubbs Creek Forest, an area being disputed by the people of Ibeno, Esit Eket and Eket local government areas of Akwa-Ibom State.
According to the Ekid people, found in Eket and Esit Eket local government areas of the state, BUA should have followed the footsteps taken by Mobil Producing Nigeria, which had its operational base in the area, by meeting with the land owners and paying compensation accordingly before acquiring the land.
In a document submitted to the Akwa-Ibom State Land Use And Allocation Committee and signed by the National President of Ekid People’s Union, Dr.Samuel Udonsak, they accused BUA of illegal encroachment on their land without following the due process.
“ExxonMobil Qua Iboe Terminal is situated in the Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve. It was first dereserved, then the land acquired and compensation paid to the Ekid people who are the landowners of the Stubbs Creeks Forest”, they stated.