Editorial
FG And Recalcitrant IOCs
Six months after the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, in his acting capacity as the President of Nigeria, issued a presidential directive to all International Oil Companies (IOCs) operating in the Niger Delta region, to relocate their headquarters to the region, the multinational oil and gas firms are yet to comply with the order.
Osinbajo’s directive was a fallout of his several interactive sessions with leaders and stakeholders of the region who re-echoed their age-long grievances against the multi-nationals for locating their headquarters in Lagos and Abuja, outside the region in which they explore and exploit oil and gas.
The Niger Delta people told the then Acting President that most of the restiveness and agitations from youth and oil bearing communities in the region emanate from the oil-giants’ insensitivity to the developmental imperatives of the region. They argued that these companies shy away from their corporate social responsibilities, just because their headquarters are far away from the host communities.
Against this backdrop, Prof. Osinbajo directed the oil-giants to immediately relocate their operational and administrative headquarters to the region in order to be in direct touch with the communities in which they do business.
Sadly, these multi-nationals-Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC), Chevron, Mobil, TotalfinaElf, Saipem and other subsidiaries and service firms still refuse to relocate their headquarters to the region. In essence, the peace and confidence building mission of the Vice President is threatened.
Except Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), with its headquarters in Port Harcourt, all other IOCs still operate either from Lagos or Abuja and appear not ready to comply with the presidential order.
We recall that Osinbajo said in his tour of the Niger Delta States that there was no justification for these companies to continue to operate outside the region and promised that the Federal Government will do the needful by providing the enabling environment for peace, security and orderliness within the region.
Similarly, the leaders and stakeholders, including the restive youth committed themselves to abiding by the resolutions reached. This understanding, indeed, led to a drastic reduction in the rate of sabotage and vandalism of oil and gas installations and facilities in the region.
The Tide can authoritatively confirm that most if not all these companies have increased their daily production of crude oil quota. We, therefore, see no justification in the claim by the multi-nationals that security concerns informed their refusal to relocate their headquarters to the region.
We think that the mutli-national companies have an agenda which the Federal Government and the people of Niger Delta region are yet to know.
The utter disregard to the feelings of the oil-bearing communities and outright disobedience to the presidential directive are obvious pointers to the insensitivity and criminal neglect of the people from whose communities they milk crude oil and gas.
We further recall that about a decade ago, former President Olusegun Obasanjo issued similar directive to these recalcitrant multinationals, yet, they still retained their headquarters outside the region. The flimsy excuse of insecurity, is no longer tenable.
Just last week, worried by the slow-pace of development in the South-South and South-East geo-political zones, where over 95 per cent of the nation’s oil reserve is domiciled, the governors of the zones, rising from their meeting in Port Harcourt, re-affirmed the inevitability of the firms relocating their headquarters in order to accelerate the economic and infrastructural development of the area in which they do business.
In a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, the governors said such relocation will definitely enhance critical intra-regional development and stimulate integration which will impact positively on oil and gas bearing communities.
We cannot agree less. We therefore implore these companies to without further delay, mobilise manpower and facilities for easy transition of their headquarters to the region as directed by the then Acting President.
We believe that such relocation will surely enhance harmonious relationship between oil companies and host communities. We, therefore, urge the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government to issue a timeline of December 31, 2017 for these firms to relocate their headquarters to the region or face severe sanctions including quitting the region.
This is the way forward. Anything short of this will be perceived by Niger Delta people as insensitivity to their plight and conspiracy by the government to further marginalize them.
When Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, received the Board and Management of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), led by its Chairman, Senator Adeyeye Adedayo Clement, his message was unmistakable: Rivers’ seaports remain underutilised, and Nigeria is poorer for it. The governor’s lament was a sad reminder of how neglect and centralisation continue to choke the nation’s economic arteries.
The governor, in his remarks at Government House, Port Harcourt, expressed concern that the twin seaports — the NPA in Port Harcourt and the Onne Seaport — have not been operating at their full potential. He underscored that seaports are vital engines of national development, pointing out that no prosperous nation thrives without efficient ports and airports. His position aligns with global realities that maritime trade remains the backbone of industrial expansion and international commerce.
Indeed, the case of Rivers State is peculiar. It hosts two major ports strategically located along the Bonny River axis, yet cargo throughput has remained dismally low compared to Lagos. According to NPA’s 2023 statistics, Lagos ports (Apapa and Tin Can Island) handled over 75 per cent of Nigeria’s container traffic, while Onne managed less than 10 per cent. Such a lopsided distribution is neither efficient nor sustainable.
Governor Fubara rightly observed that the full capacity operation of Onne Port would be transformative. The area’s vast land mass and industrial potential make it ideal for ancillary businesses — warehousing, logistics, ship repair, and manufacturing. A revitalised Onne would attract investors, create jobs, and stimulate economic growth, not only in Rivers State but across the Niger Delta.
The multiplier effect cannot be overstated. The port’s expansion would boost clearing and forwarding services, strengthen local transport networks, and revitalise the moribund manufacturing sector. It would also expand opportunities for youth employment — a pressing concern in a state where unemployment reportedly hovers around 32 per cent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Yet, the challenge lies not in capacity but in policy. For years, Nigeria’s maritime economy has been suffocated by excessive centralisation. Successive governments have prioritised Lagos at the expense of other viable ports, creating a traffic nightmare and logistical bottlenecks that cost importers and exporters billions annually. The governor’s call, therefore, is a plea for fairness and pragmatism.
Making Lagos the exclusive maritime gateway is counter productive. Congestion at Tin Can Island and Apapa has become legendary — ships often wait weeks to berth, while truck queues stretch for kilometres. The result is avoidable demurrage, product delays, and business frustration. A more decentralised port system would spread economic opportunities and reduce the burden on Lagos’ overstretched infrastructure.
Importers continue to face severe difficulties clearing goods in Lagos, with bureaucratic delays and poor road networks compounding their woes. The World Bank’s Doing Business Report estimates that Nigerian ports experience average clearance times of 20 days — compared to just 5 days in neighbouring Ghana. Such inefficiency undermines competitiveness and discourages foreign investment.
Worse still, goods transported from Lagos to other regions are often lost to accidents or criminal attacks along the nation’s perilous highways. Reports from the Federal Road Safety Corps indicate that over 5,000 road crashes involving heavy-duty trucks occurred in 2023, many en route from Lagos. By contrast, activating seaports in Rivers, Warri, and Calabar would shorten cargo routes and save lives.
The economic rationale is clear: making all seaports operational will create jobs, enhance trade efficiency, and boost national revenue. It will also help diversify economic activity away from the overburdened South West, spreading prosperity more evenly across the federation.
Decentralisation is both an economic strategy and an act of national renewal. When Onne, Warri, and Calabar ports operate optimally, hinterland states benefit through increased trade and infrastructure development. The federal purse, too, gains through taxes, duties, and improved productivity.
Tin Can Island, already bursting at the seams, exemplifies the perils of over-centralisation. Ships face berthing delays, containers stack up, and port users lose valuable hours navigating chaos. The result is higher operational costs and lower competitiveness. Allowing states like Rivers to fully harness their maritime assets would reverse this trend.
Compelling all importers to use Lagos ports is an anachronistic policy that stifles innovation and local enterprise. Nigeria cannot achieve its industrial ambitions by chaining its logistics system to one congested city. The path to prosperity lies in empowering every state to develop and utilise its natural advantages — and for Rivers, that means functional seaports.
Fubara’s call should not go unheeded. The Federal Government must embrace decentralisation as a strategic necessity for national growth. Making Rivers’ seaports work is not just about reviving dormant infrastructure; it is about unlocking the full maritime potential of a nation yearning for balance, productivity, and shared prosperity.
