Ogun rejects Ondo’s claims, affirms jurisdiction over Eba Oil Site

By Adejoke Adeleye

The Ogun State Government has firmly reaffirmed its territorial jurisdiction over Eba Island in Ogun Waterside Local Government Area, dismissing rival claims from parts of Ondo State as misleading and capable of inflaming communal tensions.

The clarification follows public controversy sparked after Bola Ahmed Tinubu approved the resumption of drilling at an abandoned oil well on Eba Island, prompting a motion at the National Assembly by an Ondo State lawmaker.

In a statement issued Sunday, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Information and Strategy, Kayode Akinmade, said the oil-bearing Eba Island falls “squarely and unambiguously” within Ogun State.

He noted that Nigeria’s state and local government boundaries are constitutionally defined and officially documented by the National Boundary Commission, whose records place Eba Island in Ogun Waterside.

Akinmade stressed that Eba is a long-established community whose status predates independence and has remained unchanged since the 1976 state creation exercise.

He added that no constitutional amendment, court ruling or federal gazette has altered that boundary.

The government clarified that while another location named “Eba” exists near Ondo State’s forest reserve, the larger Eba Island approved for drilling lies entirely within Ogun’s coastal corridor.

According to the statement, due diligence by Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and other federal agencies confirmed Ogun State’s jurisdiction before presidential approval was granted, a position reinforced by the deployment of naval security assets to the site.

Ogun State also cited historical records, INEC registration data, survey plans and recent geospatial verification, urging restraint and warning against misinformation.

“The facts are clear and the law is settled,” Akinmade said, adding that “Eba Island where the approved oil well is located is in Ogun State.”