NDC: Tinubu Repeats Ibom Deep Seaport Promise, Questions APC’s 2020 Approval
*Says Buhari’s FEC approval for $4.6bn project remains unfulfilled
*Accuses ruling party of turning infrastructure pledge into campaign tool
Sunday Aborisade in Abuja
The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has criticised President Bola Tinubu over his renewed promise to construct the Ibom Deep Sea Port in Akwa Ibom State, questioning why the All Progressives Congress (APC) continues to make fresh commitments on a project that was approved by the previous administration in 2020.
The opposition party described Tinubu’s latest pledge as a repetition of an earlier campaign promise, insisting that the federal government had yet to demonstrate tangible commitment to translating the proposed multibillion-dollar project into reality.
Tinubu reportedly renewed the promise on Friday, November 6, 2026, while addressing supporters during his visit to Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
In a statement yesterday, the NDC National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, accused the APC of using the proposed deep seaport as a political campaign instrument rather than demonstrating the political will to implement the project.
The party recalled that the Federal Executive Council (FEC), under former President Muhammadu Buhari, approved the implementation of the first phase of the $4.6 billion Ibom Deep Sea Port project on December 16, 2020.
According to the opposition party, the approval had identified Bollore/Power China as the preferred bidder and was expected to pave the way for the commencement of construction.
It argued that the renewed commitment by Tinubu was particularly troubling because he had also promised to build the port during the APC 2023 presidential campaign in Akwa Ibom State.
At the party’s presidential campaign rally held at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo, on January 30, 2023, Tinubu reportedly promised to establish the seaport alongside other development initiatives.
The NDC quoted the president as telling supporters: “We will do mechanised farming. We will export food from Akwa Ibom. We will build your seaport.”
The opposition party, however, accused the APC of failing to fulfil that commitment more than three years after making it.
It questioned the rationale behind making another promise on the same project without providing an account of what had happened to the earlier federal approval.
Describing the development as an indication of what it called APC’s unfulfilled campaign promises, the NDC asked how many times the federal government would announce its approval of the Ibom Deep Sea Port before actual construction would commence.
“What a hocus-pocus, what hogwash, and what barefaced lies and shenanigans of a rudderless party! How many times will the APC approve the Ibom Deep Sea Port?” the party asked.
