Ibom Deep Seaport: Institutionalise funding, not partisan verbal approvals - Group tells Tinubu

Ibom Peoples' Empowerment and Ecosystem Restoration Foundation, PEER Foundation, a non-profit organisation in Akwa Ibom State, has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the National Assembly to prioritise the institutionalisation of funding for the realisation of the Ibom Deep Seaport project in record time.

It expressed concern about the spate of unending approvals from the presidency, especially the one conditioned on electoral support ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Recall that President Tinubu, during his working visit to Akwa Ibom on Friday, November 6, approved the realisation of the Ibom Deep Seaport project.

He said, "Will you vote for me? If you vote for me, then the Seaport is yours.

"Your request for the Ibom Deep Sea Port is hereby approved. The Ibom Deep Sea Port will bring associated economic value and economic development to the people, just as the governor has said."

Alarmed by the comment, PEER Foundation, in a press statement by its Executive Director, Mfon Gabriel, on Tuesday, faulted the notion that essential federal maritime infrastructure should be used as a political bargaining tool, emphasising instead that it is a matter of constitutional equity and economic rights.

While recalling the successive approvals on the Deep Seaport, the Director said, "we want to bring to the notice of Nigerians, and Akwa Ibomites specifically, that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) already granted formal approval for the $4.6 billion Ibom Deep Seaport project in December 2020. Instead of explaining to Akwa Ibomites why funds and sovereign guarantees have not been released for the development of the Ibom Deep Seaport since his administration commenced—or highlighting specific federal projects delivered in Akwa Ibom State—the President offered a fresh verbal approval for a seaport that had already been approved.

"Treating an already-approved federal infrastructure project as a new campaign-ground concession sends conflicting signals to international financiers and private consortiums about Nigeria's regulatory stability and commitment to existing Federal Executive Council approvals and national infrastructure blueprints.

"It will also be recalled that on March 19, 2026, at 10 Downing Street in London, President Bola Tinubu held a bilateral meeting with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. In the presence of two prominent Akwa Ibom sons in his entourage—Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio and the Executive Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Pastor Umo Eno—President Tinubu signed a £746 million UK Export Finance, UKEF, facility for the rehabilitation of the Apapa and Tin Can Island ports in Lagos, building upon an initial $700 million mandate letter signed by the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, with Citibank Nigeria on April 17, 2024. This clearly bypassed the Ibom Deep Seaport, which received initial federal approval as far back as 2015."

"It is our firm position that national infrastructure funded by collective federal revenue, such as the Ibom Deep Seaport, should benefit all citizens regardless of voting behaviour. The people of Akwa Ibom State hold an equitable right to demand the immediate prioritisation of the Ibom Deep Seaport irrespective of partisan sentiment."

Ibom Deep Seaport: Institutionalise funding, not partisan verbal approvals - Group tells Tinubu