The governments of Ogun and Ondo State are at odds over who owns Eba Island, which has a lot of oil.
Daily Trust adds that the dispute started after it was revealed that President Bola Tinubu had given the go-ahead for commercial oil drilling on the island, which is reported to be on the boundary of both states.
Governor Dapo Abiodun made the announcement last Thursday when he met with Rear Admiral Abubakar Mustapha, the Flag Officer Commanding the Western Naval Command, in Abeokuta.
The first argument started when the government gave different answers about where the drilling was going to take place, saying it would be between Tongeji Island in Ipokia Local Government Area and Eba Island, which is thought to be in Ogun Waterside LGA.
The first statement reported Abiodun as saying, “Let me tell you that Mr. President has approved the start of commercial oil drilling operations at Tongeji Island. From now on, you will see a lot of activity there.”
The governor also said that President Tinubu has given the go-ahead for the Olokola Deep Seaport project to start right away in Ogun Waterside Local Government Area. This is a big step forward after years of waiting for the multibillion-dollar port construction.
Governor Abiodun says that the President is very interested in both projects.
He said that the Olokola Deep Seaport will help clear up the Lagos ports a lot, and that commercial oil drilling would help people in the coastal areas feel included and give them more economic power.
The second announcement from the government disagreed with the first about where the oil drilling would take place. It said that the President approved Eba in Ogun Waterside LGA as the site.
The administration said it was wrong and blamed a press staffer for writing the report that was sent out.
But the administration of Ondo State officially turned down Ogun’s claim to hold Eba Island, calling it completely unacceptable.
Allen Sowore, the Governor’s Special Adviser on Communication and Strategy, said in a statement on Friday that “the oil deposit in question is located in Atijere, Ondo State.”
Sowore indicated that the landowners are from Atijere, where they live. He also said that the community has been around since at least 1937 and that Eba Island has always been part of the Atijere Native Court Authority.
He added, “In the past, Eba Island was part of Ilaje/Mahin Country in the now-defunct Lagos Colony under Governor Sir John Hawley Glover before the 1914 Amalgamation.” After the merger, it became part of the Ondo Province, specifically the Okitipupa Division. The Atijere Native Authority made it a forestry reserve.
Around 1950, Eba Island became part of the Ilaje District Council, with Atijere as its main office. The island was still part of Ilaje/Ese-Odo Local Government Area until it was founded in 1975. Eba Island remained a part of Ilaje Local Government Area after Ese-Odo Local Government Area was created in 1997. It is still an Ondo State forestry reserve today.
“Ogun and Ondo states are separate places in the South-West with clear historical and administrative boundaries and a long history of good relations. But recent attempts to lie about the facts and give wrong information about the location of an oil resource in Ondo State, even to the federal government, are not acceptable.
He says that the villages around the oil well—Ago Alaja, Balogun Bode, and Fasuyi—are part of the Atijere community.
He said that the Ondo State Government put in place all the Baales and village chiefs of Balogun Bode and Fasuyi, including the incumbent Baale, Chief Segun Fasuyi.
He said, “All the people who live in these communities are from Ondo State.”
The governor’s spokesperson asked the National Boundary Commission and other government institutions to “provide authoritative records and documentary evidence that can put an end to these false claims and unnecessary public tension.”
The Ondo administration told the native people and residents of the area to stay calm because the state “will, within the law, vigorously defend its territorial integrity, lawful occupation, and administrative authority over Eba Island and its neighboring communities.”
Sowore went on to say, “Finally, Ondo State reaffirms its full cooperation with the Federal Government in protecting this national asset and in making sure that the oil deposit is found and the land it is on is known.”
Ogun fires back and tells Ondo not to stir up community discord.
In a statement released yesterday, the Ogun State administration maintained what it called its territorial control over Eba Island in the Ogun Waterside Local administration Area. It called the Ondo State’s claims inaccurate and said they might cause unnecessary community conflict.
Hon. Kayode Akinmade, the Governor’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, said this in a statement yesterday.
Akinmade, a renowned journalist from Ondo State, was the Commissioner for Information at the time that Olusegun Mimiko was governor.
Akinmade added in the statement that the permitted oil well is on Eba Island, which is “squarely within Ogun Waterside Local Government Area of Ogun State.”
He said that the clarification came after public discussions and a motion put forward by Hon. Donald Kimikanboh Ojogo, who represents the Ilaje Federal Constituency in Ondo State. This was after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu gave the go-ahead for drilling to begin at an abandoned oil well on Eba Island.
He added that the National Boundary Commission (NBC) has correctly documented and delineated the borders between states and local governments in Nigeria. He also said that official boundary maps and records clearly show that Eba Island is part of Ogun State.
He said that Eba is a long-established community in Ogun Waterside that has been the same since before Nigeria became independent. This has been true through many political and administrative changes, such as the 1976 state creation exercise that split Ogun State off from the former Western State.
The statement said, “There has been no constitutional amendment, judicial pronouncement, or federal gazette since 1976 that changed the boundary that puts Eba outside Ogun State.”
The administration made it clear that there are two different places called “Eba.”
He stated that one is close to the Ondo State forest reserve while the bigger Eba Island, which is home to the oil well sanctioned by the President, is completely within Ogun State’s coastal corridor.
Akinmade said that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and other relevant federal agencies did a lot of research before getting the president’s approval for drilling. They all agreed that the oil well is in Ogun State territory before the go-ahead was given.
He went on to say that the use of national security resources, such naval ships around the drilling site, shows that the federal government sees Ogun State as the host state.
In October 2024, the Molokun of Atijere in Ondo State officially asked the Osobia of Makun-Omi in Ogun Waterside Local Government Area for permission to do business on Eba Island. This declaration gave more information.
The statement stated, “The request was turned down and then sent to the Ogun State Government, NNPCL, and security agencies.”
The government says that this involvement was a silent way of saying that Ogun State has control over the area.
The Ogun State government said that relying on colonial documents from 1919 and 1920 was misleading. Instead, they pointed to Colonial Government Gazette No. 660 of April 29, 1950, which clearly defined the boundary between the former Ijebu and Ondo Provinces and replaced earlier notices.
The government also used leasing agreements, historical community records, and survey documents, such as the Olokola Free Trade Zone Survey Plan, to show that Eba Island is part of Ogun State.
The statement said, “The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) also mentioned administrative validation, with the polling unit at LA Primary School, Eba, officially registered under Makun/Irokun Ward in Ogun Waterside Local Government Area of Ogun State.”
Akinmade added that after finding hydrocarbon potential in the coastal corridor, the Ogun State Government used geospatial and cartography technology to check the well coordinates on its own. This showed that the wells are indeed inside the confines of Ogun State.
He also said that Ogun State has worked closely with the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and NNPCL to protect the asset and get it ready for commercial exploration. This included helping to set up naval security infrastructure in the area.
Akinmade, who was born in Ondo, warned his state about the “spread of false information and inflammatory stories.”
The Ogun government asked everyone to be careful and act responsibly.
“The facts are plain, and the law is clear. The message ended with, “Eba Island, where the approved oil well is, is in Ogun State.”
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