Re: Oil Exploration in Eba, Ogun Waterside Local Government and Tongeji, Ipokia Local Government. A tale of two is better than none.
Date: 26th January 2026
His Excellency,
Governor Dapo Abiodun, CON
Governor of Ogun State
And:
Political Leaders, Traditional Rulers, Community Representatives, and Stakeholders Across Ogun State
Your Excellency, Distinguished Stakeholders,
This open letter is written out of necessity, not convenience. The current public conversation around oil exploration in Ogun State has taken a direction that risks creating an artificial conflict where none should exist.
Let me be unequivocal: Ogun State does not face a choice between Tongeji and Eba. Any attempt to frame it that way is misleading and counterproductive. We can and must have both.
Tongeji Island, in Ipokia Local Government Area, has been identified for decades as hosting oil deposits in commercial quantities. This is not conjecture. It is not a recent discovery. From the military era through successive civilian administrations, Tongeji has consistently been acknowledged as the cornerstone of Ogun State’s aspiration to become an oil-producing state. This expectation is long-standing, documented, and deeply embedded in the consciousness of the people.
The continued delay or ambiguity surrounding Tongeji, after years of anticipation, is neither fair nor sustainable. Communities that have waited patiently, cooperated with federal authorities, and safeguarded national interests deserve clarity and action not shifting narratives.
At the same time, Eba Community in Ogun Waterside has rightly come into focus as part of emerging energy and maritime development efforts. The people of Ogun Waterside are entitled to development, and no responsible stakeholder disputes that.
What must be resisted, however, is the dangerous idea that progress in Eba requires the sidelining of Tongeji. Development is not a zero-sum game. Ogun State is not so poor in vision that it must develop one area by abandoning another.
Pitting Ogun West against Ogun East directly or indirectly serves no one. It breeds suspicion, weakens internal cohesion, and undermines the very progress we claim to seek. A serious government, and serious stakeholders, must reject this logic outright.
The path forward is clear:
• Sustain and advance initiatives relating to Eba Community.
• Reaffirm, fast-track, and conclusively pursue oil exploration in Tongeji Island.
Anything short of this balanced approach will be read rightly or wrongly as selective development, and that perception alone carries political and social consequences that Ogun State does not need.
This is a moment for decisive, inclusive leadership. Ogun State is large enough, mature enough, and strategic enough to carry both Tongeji and Eba forward without hesitation or excuses.
I urge His Excellency, the Governor of Ogun State, and all stakeholders to rise above narrow calculations and embrace a development strategy anchored in fairness, balance, and historical responsibility.
Ogun State can do better. And we must.
Respectfully,
Otunba Segun Showunmi
Convener, The Alternative
Political Stakeholder, Ogun State
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