A high-stakes territorial battle has reignited between Ogun and Ondo States following President Bola Tinubu’s approval of commercial oil drilling on the resource-rich Eba Island. The dispute, which centers on who gets to claim “oil-producing” status and the lucrative 13% derivation fund, has escalated from communal grumbling to a full-blown interstate legal and historical war.+1
The Ogun State Government, led by Governor Dapo Abiodun, maintains that Eba Island falls squarely within Ogun Waterside Local Government Area. Citing a 1950 Colonial Government Gazette and recent NNPCL technical verifications, Ogun officials claim the “facts are settled.” They’ve even noted that the local Molokun of Atijere (from Ondo) once sought Ogun’s permission for business on the island—a move they view as a “tacit acknowledgment” of their authority.+2
On the other side, the Ondo State Government has fired back, calling Ogun’s claims “unacceptable” and “misleading.” Ondo officials argue that Eba Island has historically been under the Atijere Native Court Authority since 1937 and remains a designated Ondo State Forestry Reserve. They’ve urged the National Boundary Commission (NBC) to step in immediately to prevent what they describe as “territorial overreach” and to douse the rising communal tensions in the Ilaje and Ijebu axes.
