From Jonathan To Tinubu: The Unfinished Ibom Deep Seaport & The Questions Behind Its Latest Approval
By TIMOTHY HAGGERTY-NWOKOLO
Ibom Deep Seaport: Two Decades of Approvals, Billions in Proposed Investment & No Construction
FOR more than two decades, the proposed Ibom Deep Seaport has occupied an important place in Akwa Ibom’s economic development ambitions. Successive administrations have presented it as a gateway to international trade, industrial expansion, employment and regional prosperity. Yet, despite several federal approvals, technical studies, procurement milestones and political commitments, the project has not reached physical construction.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s announcement on 6 November 2026 has therefore revived an old but legitimate question: what exactly has changed, and what must happen before the people of Akwa Ibom can see construction equipment at the proposed site?
The question gained prominence after Governor Umo Eno requested federal support for the project during Tinubu’s visit to Uyo. At the APC rally at Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, the President responded that the Ibom Deep Seaport was approved. However, the announcement came against a background of earlier federal clearances, including the 2015 approval of the Outline Business Case and the 2020 approval of the Full Business Case for the first phase.
Consequently, the latest announcement deserves more than political celebration. It requires a careful examination of the project’s history, financing arrangements, procurement process and implementation challenges.
A Vision That Outlived Its Originator
The Ibom Deep Seaport originated during the administration of former Governor Victor Attah, when the state began pursuing the development of a deep-water port and industrial city around the Ibaka maritime axis in Mbo Local Government Area.
The ambition was substantial. The proposed port was intended to accommodate large vessels, expand Nigeria’s maritime capacity and create a logistics gateway serving the Gulf of Guinea and neighbouring countries.
Alongside the seaport, the wider development plan included an industrial city and a Free Trade Zone. The state government identified a large area for the proposed industrial development, while the port itself was planned around a designated maritime site.
However, conceiving a major port is only the beginning. Such an undertaking requires technical assessments, environmental clearances, a commercially viable business case, federal regulatory approvals, private investors and long-term financing.
Those requirements would shape the project’s progress under successive administrations.
The original proposal therefore survived changes in political leadership, but its movement from planning to construction remained slow. That distinction matters because a project can accumulate official endorsements without securing the financial and contractual commitments necessary to build it.
Jonathan’s Approval: An Important Planning Milestone
Under former President Goodluck Jonathan, the project advanced through the Federal Government’s formal approval process.
In May 2015, the Federal Executive Council approved the project’s Outline Business Case. This represented a significant step towards establishing the commercial and technical framework for the proposed development.
Nevertheless, an Outline Business Case is not the same as a construction contract or a completed financing arrangement. It provides a basis for evaluating the project’s feasibility and moving towards subsequent procurement and implementation stages.
The distinction is essential because political announcements often use the word “approval” without explaining the particular document or process receiving approval.
During this period, the Federal Government and Akwa Ibom State also pursued the development through a public-private partnership framework. The Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission became involved in the process, while technical and transaction advisers supported the project’s preparation.
By January 2018, reports indicated that the authorities were preparing to commence procurement by inviting private-sector port developers and operators.
The process, however, did not produce a completed seaport. Instead, the project continued through technical assessments, procurement discussions and attempts to identify investors capable of financing and operating the proposed facility.
Buhari’s Government & the $2.016 Billion First Phase
The project recorded another major federal milestone under former President Muhammadu Buhari.
In June 2020, the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission presented the Full Business Case Compliance Certificate for the Ibom Deep Water Port to the Federal Ministry of Transportation. The commission said the project involved a greenfield deep-sea port and an accompanying Free Trade Zone within the proposed Ibom Industrial City.
It also identified the development as a public-private partnership project and reported that Bolloré Africa Logistics and PowerChina had emerged as the preferred bidder following a procurement process.
Subsequently, on 16 December 2020, the Federal Executive Council approved the Full Business Case for the first phase, estimated at $2.016 billion.
The then Akwa Ibom Commissioner for Economic Development and Ibom Deep Seaport, Akan Okon, explained that the first phase would operate under a 60:40 financing arrangement. Private investors were expected to provide 60 per cent, while the public sector would contribute the remaining 40 per cent.
The wider project was estimated at approximately $4.6 billion, with implementation expected to take place in phases.
These figures should not be confused with money already spent or secured. The $2.016 billion represented the estimated cost of the first phase, not proof that the entire amount had been raised, released or committed by investors.
Indeed, the distinction between a project’s approved business case and its actual financing remains central to understanding why the seaport has not moved into construction.
The 2020 approval gave the project an important federal regulatory foundation. Yet, the expected private-sector financing, public-sector contribution and final implementation arrangements still had to translate into binding commitments and physical work.
Why Did the Project Remain on Paper?
The gap between approval and construction raises questions about the project’s commercial, technical and institutional challenges.
One reported difficulty involved the search for investors and changes to aspects of the project’s proposed location. The previous Akwa Ibom administration pursued investment partners but subsequently encountered difficulties involving its preferred investor and objections surrounding a revised project location.
Such disagreements can affect investor confidence, especially where a proposed port requires substantial investment in dredging, breakwaters, terminals, access infrastructure and supporting industrial facilities.
Furthermore, a deep-sea port requires more than government enthusiasm. Investors must establish that projected cargo volumes, shipping demand, operating costs and expected revenues can justify the financial risks.
The project must also compete with existing and emerging ports in Nigeria and the wider West African maritime market.
These considerations make it necessary for the authorities to explain not only how much the project will cost but also who will finance it, who will operate it, what commercial commitments have been secured and how the parties will distribute the risks.
Without such clarity, another announcement cannot resolve the fundamental implementation challenges.
Eno’s Administration: New Studies, Investor Engagement & Financing Questions
Governor Umo Eno’s administration has continued efforts to advance the project.
The state government says it has funded technical and feasibility studies, undertaken geophysical and geotechnical assessments, prepared investor documents and established a dedicated project office.
In April 2026, Eno received a feasibility report from a technical committee led by Mfon Usoro, a former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency.
The administration also reported progress in financial modelling, due diligence and international bidding, including the emergence of preferred bidders.
Furthermore, on 5 June 2026, Eno led a technical engagement with Africa Global Logistics in Paris, France. The meeting reviewed a technical feasibility report prepared by Worley Parsons and examined investment arrangements, implementation pathways and long-term sustainability.
The governor requested clearer timelines, defined milestones and actionable next steps.
These activities indicate that the state has continued working on the project rather than simply waiting for another presidential announcement. However, technical studies and investor discussions do not, by themselves, establish that construction financing has been secured.
The most important question concerns the exact financial and legal arrangements needed to move the project into implementation.
What Did Tinubu Approve in November 2026?
Tinubu’s announcement on 6 November 2026 initially appeared to represent another federal approval for a project that had already received major clearances.
However, Governor Eno’s subsequent explanation added an important dimension to the discussion.
In a state broadcast on 7 November 2026, the governor described the President’s intervention as approval of the financing arrangements for the Ibom Deep Sea Port. He specifically presented the intervention as support for a federal sovereign guarantee intended to help attract investors.
This explanation suggests that the latest presidential announcement concerns a financing-related requirement rather than a repetition of the 2020 Full Business Case approval.
A sovereign guarantee can help reassure lenders and investors by providing government-backed protection against specified risks. Nevertheless, such an arrangement must identify the obligations covered, the beneficiary, the financial exposure and the conditions under which the guarantee may be called.
It also requires appropriate legal and institutional procedures.
The Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission Act provides for Federal Executive Council approval of guarantees and related undertakings associated with concession agreements. Therefore, a public declaration of support should not automatically be treated as evidence that every legal and financial requirement has been completed.
The precise instrument, its scope and the government’s potential liabilities remain important matters for public clarification.
The Questions the Government Must Answer
The latest development should now provide an opportunity for the Federal Government and Akwa Ibom State Government to explain the project’s implementation framework.
First, what specific financing arrangement did Tinubu approve? Does it involve a sovereign guarantee, a revised public-private partnership structure or another form of federal support?
Second, which investors or financial institutions will provide the money? Have they signed binding agreements, or are negotiations still underway?
Third, what happened to the original 60:40 financing arrangement announced after the 2020 approval? If the structure has changed, what are the new contributions expected from the private sector, Akwa Ibom State and the Federal Government?
Fourth, has the Federal Executive Council approved the specific guarantee, and what financial risks could it transfer to the Nigerian taxpayer?
Finally, when will the authorities publish a construction schedule, identify the contractors and disclose the first phase of physical works?
These are not hostile questions. They are essential accountability requirements for a project involving billions of dollars and potentially significant public-sector obligations.
Beyond Political Announcements: The Demand for Measurable Progress
The political dimension of the latest announcement cannot be ignored.
At the Uyo rally, Governor Eno had pledged that Akwa Ibom would deliver two million votes for Tinubu’s re-election if the Federal Government supported the seaport. The President’s response therefore occurred in a campaign setting where infrastructure commitments and electoral expectations featured prominently.
That exchange has raised concerns about the relationship between public development projects and political support. Nevertheless, the available evidence does not establish that the approval was merely an electoral transaction or that the project was deliberately withheld for political reasons.
What the record does establish is that successive administrations have announced important milestones while the proposed port remains unbuilt.
Consequently, Akwa Ibom residents have legitimate grounds to demand measurable progress rather than another cycle of political assurances.
The people need published financing documents, identifiable investors, clear contractual responsibilities, a construction timetable and regular implementation reports. They also deserve transparent information about land acquisition, compensation, environmental obligations and the public resources committed to the project.
For a development expected to transform maritime trade and create employment, accountability must extend beyond the commissioning of project offices and the presentation of feasibility reports.
The Ibom Deep Seaport is not simply a political trophy for whichever administration eventually delivers it. It is a long-standing public development proposal whose benefits, if realised, should extend across generations.
After years of planning and successive federal interventions, the central test is no longer how many times government officials can announce approval. It is whether the latest financing arrangements can finally produce signed commitments, construction activity and a functioning port.
