‘We need divine resolution to protect oil boundary’

The Founder of the Christian Action Faith Ministries (CAFM), Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams has said Ghanaians cannot be apathetic in the oil boundary dispute between Ghana and its neighbour, Ivory Coast.

He said it is worrying that the smooth relationship that has existed between the two countries appears to be at risk as a result of the offshore misunderstanding.

In 2010, Ivory Coast petitioned the United Nations to complete the demarcation of the Ivorian maritime boundary with Ghana days after the American exploration firm Vanco discovered oil in the Dzata-1 deepwater-well.

The issue attracted considerable media attention, and some local media claimed that the petition was an attempt by Ivory Coast to lay claim to Ghana’s oil.

Ghana has filed a suit against Cote d’Ivoire over the development.

The young oil-producing West African country, in the suit, is seeking a declaration that it has not encroached the territorial waters of Cote d’Ivoire in the exploration of oil. Ghana’s arbitration proceeding is under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

In a prayer for the nation at a Crossover service last night, the charismatic preacher said Ghanaians must pray for a divine resolution to the matter.

“We’ve never had that kind of a situation until oil was discovered.

“Let’s pray for that whole dispute over oil between Ghana and La Cote d’Ivoire that God will give us a divine resolution, a divine outcome. In the negotiation; that Ghana will not be disadvantaged,” he prayed.

He said it is wrong for Ghanaians to pretend not to care about the issue.

“We can’t be ignorant, we can’t stand aloof, that’s why you are a Ghanaian. We can’t say we don’t care, we must care.”