The quest for oil in southwestern Nigeria has ignited a territorial fierce dispute. As a technical team from the NNPCL inspects the Eba oil well in preparation for commercial drilling, Ogun State is celebrating a new economic era, while neighboring Ondo State is crying foul over land ownership.

The visit by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, led by Project Coordinator Hussein Aliyu, was meant to be a technical formality following President Bola Tinubu’s approval. The team assessed the infrastructure in the Ogun Waterside Local Government Area, with Governor Dapo Abiodun hailing the development as a "landmark achievement" that would transform the state’s economy. However, the geology of the region ignores political boundaries, and the geography is now the subject of a bitter contest.

The Ondo Counter-Claim

Ondo State government has vehemently rejected Ogun’s victory lap. In a sharply worded statement, they asserted that Eba Island, where the deposit lies, falls squarely within the Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo. They describe Ogun’s claims as "misleading and unacceptable," pointing to historical maps and the Petroleum Industry Act which vests regulatory power in the federal commission, not state proclamations.

• The Stakes: Status as an oil-producing state brings massive revenue from the 13 percent derivation fund.
• The Evidence: Ondo cites colonial-era administrative records placing the island in its territory.
• The Tension: The dispute threatens to delay the very commercial production both states desire.

Federal Intervention Needed

The NNPCL’s presence on the ground signals that the federal government is moving ahead, regardless of the border skirmish. For the local communities, the promise of jobs and "federal presence" is tantalizing, but the risk of communal conflict is real. The technical capacity for drilling is ready; the political capacity to share the spoils is yet to be tested.

As the rigs prepare to turn, the boundary lines on the map are being drawn in oil, and potentially, in bad blood. The resolution of the Eba well ownership will require more than surveyors; it will require high-level political diplomacy to prevent a resource blessing from becoming a border curse.