2027: Don’t use Ibom Deep Seaport for political bargain, CSO tells Tinubu

The PEER Foundation says the Ibom Deep Seaport should not be treated as a reward for electoral support, arguing that Akwa Ibom’s contribution to national revenue gives its people a legitimate claim to federal infrastructure investment.

A civil society organisation, the Ibom Peoples’ Empowerment and Ecosystem Restoration Foundation (PEER Foundation), has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s decision to link the proposed Ibom Deep Seaport to electoral support, insisting that the project should not be used as a political bargaining tool.

In a statement issued on Tuesday in Uyo, the foundation’s Executive Director, Mfon Gabriel, argued that the state’s contribution to national revenue strengthened its claim to federal infrastructure investment, irrespective of its residents’ political affiliations.

The intervention follows Mr Tinubu’s 6 November visit to Akwa Ibom, where he declared his approval of the long-awaited seaport project during an All Progressives Congress campaign rally.

“Will you vote for me? If you vote for me, then the Seaport is yours,” the president told the crowd.

The foundation described the statement as inappropriate, arguing that access to nationally funded infrastructure should not depend on how citizens vote.

“National infrastructure funded by collective federal revenue, such as the Ibom Deep Seaport, should benefit all citizens regardless of voting behaviour,” the organisation said.

The foundation faulted the president for presenting the seaport as a fresh presidential concession, noting that the Federal Executive Council (FEC), under former President Muhammadu Buhari, had approved the project’s first phase in December 2020.

It said the president should explain why the project had not progressed to construction despite the earlier approval coupled with his promise to build the seaport during his 2023 campaign in Akwa Ibom, rather than presenting another verbal approval during last week’s campaign rally.

PREMIUM TIMES reported on Monday that the December 2020 FEC approval covered the project’s first phase, estimated at $2.016 billion, out of an overall projected cost of $4.6 billion.

The newspaper also reported that the original financing arrangement envisaged private investors providing 60 per cent of the first-phase funding, while the public sector would contribute the remaining 40 per cent.

However, Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom has explained that Mr Tinubu’s latest intervention concerns a proposed sovereign guarantee to reassure prospective investors and attract financing for the project.

The governor said investors wanted the Federal Government’s guarantee before committing funds, although he cautioned that the president’s declaration did not mean construction could begin immediately.

PEER Foundation, however, questioned why the federal government had not prioritised the project while committing resources to other maritime infrastructure initiatives.

The organisation cited the Federal Government’s £746 million UK Export Finance facility for the rehabilitation of the Apapa and Tin Can Island ports in Lagos, which President Tinubu signed during his bilateral meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London on 19 March.

It also pointed to a proposed investment partnership between the Ogun State Government and Dubai-based logistics company DP World, valued at more than $7 billion, announced in September.

The foundation argued that these developments raised questions about the federal government’s commitment to the Ibom Deep Seaport, particularly given that its first phase requires an estimated $2.016 billion.

It said the project had major economic implications beyond Akwa Ibom, including the potential to reduce congestion at Lagos ports, expand maritime trade in the Gulf of Guinea and improve regional economic integration.

According to the organisation, the proposed port’s natural water depth of 17.5 metres would allow it to accommodate large vessels, while its location could facilitate shipping connections with Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, São Tomé and Príncipe, and the Republic of the Congo.

It also described the project as an opportunity to diversify Nigeria’s revenue sources, create employment and advance the objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area.

The foundation urged Mr Tinubu to facilitate the financial commitments and sovereign guarantees required to unlock the project’s first-phase investment rather than allowing its implementation to depend on the outcome of the 2027 elections.

It also called on the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy and the National Assembly to ensure that the project receives institutional backing and is insulated from partisan political considerations.

“Concrete action is a far stronger commitment than campaign promises,” it said.

The Ibom Deep Seaport, conceived more than two decades ago, has remained unrealised despite successive federal and state government commitments.

Its development has been a recurring political issue in Akwa Ibom, particularly due to concerns about the state’s ability to attract investors and secure the necessary financial arrangements.

In January 2023, Mr Tinubu promised to facilitate the project during his presidential campaign in Uyo.

More recently, Mr Eno, who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the APC, had asked the president to facilitate the seaport, pledging to deliver two million votes for him in the 2027 election if the project was realised.