The Ondo Government has disagreed with neighbouring Ogun, insisting that the oil-bearing community, Eba Island, is located in Ondo and not Ogun State.
In a statement on Friday, the Special Adviser to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa on Communication and Strategy, Allen Sowore, argued that the oil deposit in question is situated in Atijere, Ondo State, and not Ogun State.
“The oil deposit is located within the Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State. The landowners are indigenes of Atijere, where they reside.
“The village has existed since at least 1937, and Eba Island has historically fallen under the Atijere Native Court Authority,” Sowore wrote.
“River Ufara, which runs through Imakun into Oluwa River, serves as a natural demarcating feature/ boundary between Ilaje land and Ijebu land.”
He traced the political history of the island, from 1950 to the present dispensation.
“Subsequently, Eba Island was incorporated into the Ilaje District Council around 1950, with Atijere as its headquarters,” he said.
“When Ilaje/Ese-Odo Local Government Area was created in 1975, the island remained under its jurisdiction.
“Following the creation of Ese-Odo Local Government Area in 1997, Eba Island continued as an integral part of Ilaje Local Government Area, where it remains to this day—still designated as an Ondo State Forestry Reserve.”
The governor’s aide explained that the communities surrounding the oil well — Ago Alaja, Balogun Bode, and Fasuyi — are cluster villages of the Atijere community.
Sowore appealed to the National Boundary Commission and relevant federal agencies to make available authoritative records and documentary evidence capable of putting an end to these misleading claims and unnecessary public tension.
He called on the residents of the area to remain calm, declaring that the Ondo state government will not hesitate to take lawful steps to defend Eba Island.
“Finally, Ondo State reaffirms its full cooperation with the Federal Government in the protection of this national asset and in establishing, beyond doubt, the true location of the oil deposit and the territory in which it lies,” the statement read in part.
