Sitting quietly atop one of Nigeria’s richest oil and gas belts, the Anioma region in Delta North is emerging as a powerful voice in the debate over state creation. The push for Anioma State is gaining renewed urgency, writes JUWE OLUWAFEMI Beneath the rolling farmlands and quiet towns of Delta North lies an economic revelation that could reshape the debate over state creation in Nigeria. Long overlooked and politically sidelined, Anioma land, an area rich in culture and resources, is sitting atop what could become Nigeria’s fifth-largest oil and gas reserve.  From the serene groves of Utagba to the bustling power lines of Okpai, a silent revolution is bubbling beneath Anioma land in Delta North. While some still question the economic viability of carving out an Anioma State, recent research suggests that the region isn’t just viable. It is a potential game-changer.  According to Frank Iroroh, while reporting on a comprehensive study by Osita Mordi, a Germany-based oil economist of Anioma extraction, the area currently sits atop what could become the fifth largest oil and gas reserve in Nigeria. With over 200,000 bpd already being pumped from the earth and massive untapped gas fields, Anioma’s wealth is real, present, and largely uncredited.  “Anioma is no longer begging to be made a state,” said Fidelis Dike, 84-year-old from Akwu Quarters in Ubukukwu. “It is an economic injustice for such a resource-rich region to remain politically marginalised.” Beneath the surface Anioma’s oil fields, primarily spread across Ndokwa East, Ndokwa West, Ukwuani, Ika South, and Oshimili North, are divided into developed and undeveloped categories. In the developed category, we find Okpai, Kwale, Beneku, Ashaka, Umusadege, and Ebendo, among other fields, already producing tens of thousands of barrels of crude each day.  The Umusadege field, operated by a consortium including Midwestern Oil and Canadian firm Mart Resources, is the most prolific, churning out over 12,000bpd, with extensive reserves in gas and condensates.  Meanwhile, the Okpai gas field not only fuels national LNG exports via Bonny Island but also powers a gas turbine plant capable of electrifying the entire South-South region of Nigeria. The Kwale field contributes four per cent of Nigeria’s total gas production, over 50 billion standard cubic feet annually  “People think of oil and gas in the Niger Delta as a Port Harcourt and Warri story. But the real silent contributor is Anioma,” Tony Eluemunor, a journalist, said.  But despite this reality, not all of Anioma’s resources are attributed correctly. In Onyah, an Ndokwa East community, oil fields are controversially credited to Bayelsa due to boundary adjustments dating back to 1976. Similarly, the Obiofu field, straddling Anioma and Rivers State, contributes 17,000 bpd and eight per cent of Nigeria’s total gas production, but none of that is reflected in Anioma’s political standing or infrastructure allocation.  “We live near oil pipelines, but our children walk miles for drinking water,” Dike Chris, a retired Immigration officer from Idoni, said. “Our wealth is flowing elsewhere while our towns remain forgotten.”  Beyond the currently producing wells are dozens of untapped fields. These include the Adofi River in Ossissa, Isheagwu and Nsukwa in Aniocha South, Oko in Oshimili South, and Matsogo in Afor Ndokwa. Collectively, these fields are projected to yield over 50,000 bpd once developed.  There’s also the OPL 206 block, once awarded to late Chief MKO Abiola’s Summit Oil, stretching across five Anioma Local Government Areas. It remains largely dormant, another indication of missed opportunities said Nduka Ifeanyi and energy consultant who noted further that “These fields are ticking economic time bombs. If activated, they could lift Anioma’s GDP beyond 20 Nigerian states. Anioma’s role in gas future Perhaps even more striking than the oil story is the gas narrative. Fields like Egbaoma, Obiofu, and Ashaka contain hundreds of billions of standard cubic feet of gas. This gas powers Nigeria’s domestic and export energy systems, yet Anioma hosts no petrochemical industry, no refineries, and no research institutes.  “We give gas; we get nothing. We fuel LNG exports but can’t even power our hospitals during surgeries,” a frustrated Chief Muonye, an ex-Nigerian diplomat from Ugwuashi-Ukwu, said.  But Anioma’s riches are not buried alone. The region is one of Nigeria’s largest producers of garri, banana, pawpaw, and oranges. Anioma fruits dominate markets in Abuja and Onitsha, but poor processing infrastructure means thousands of tonnes of fruit rot each harvest season.  Observers say agro-industrial investment could complement oil revenues and create thousands of jobs. “What we need are fruit processing plants, cassava-to-ethanol factories, and cold storage chains.  We are wasting fortunes in post-harvest losses,” Chris Ani from Issele-Uku, an Abuja based businessman, stated.  Advocates also argue that Anioma State would become a centre for youth and sports development. With rich talent pools in athletics, martial arts, and football, the area has historically fed Delta’s medal haul at national festivals. “If Anioma becomes a state, we will give the likes of Lagos and Rivers a run for their medals,” Tony Elue, a sports enthusiast and real estate developer from Aboh boasted Nwoko steps forward Senator Ned Nwoko has become the face of the Anioma State advocacy. His renewed push rests not on sentiments but on the cold facts of production, resource control, and federal fairness.  “We are not second-class citizens in Delta State,” Nwoko said. “Anioma contributes more oil than Delta Central and Isoko combined. We deserve administrative independence to manage our resources for our people.”  With over five per cent of Nigeria’s daily crude oil and nearly a fifth of its gas, Anioma’s call for statehood is now more than a constitutional debate. It is a test of national fairness. The data is clear, the production is ongoing, and the urgency mounting.  While giving a background to the Ekumeku uprising and how Britain punished Anioma with division and disunity, Pa Dike narrated further that long before Nigeria’s geopolitical chessboard became a battleground for ethnic loyalty and state creation, the Anioma people of present-day Delta State had already paid a steep price for daring to resist colonial rule, adding that, “Today, their fractured identity across multiple local government areas isn’t just a product of administrative design. It is the scar of a war waged in silence: the Ekumeku resistance.  “Though currently grouped into nine Local Government Areas, the Anioma voice remains splintered; a reflection of the political surgery carried out by the British following a protracted anti-colonial campaign that spanned three decades. That campaign, known as the Ekumeku War, remains one of the longest but most under-reported resistances to British imperialism in Nigeria.  But were the Anioma people simply victims of imperial arrogance, or did their defiance write them into the black book of colonial planners? In the 1980s, during the stormy deliberations that led to the balkanisation of the old Bendel State into Delta and Edo states, a lone voice rose to speak for a united Anioma, Sylvester Moemeka. The advertising guru, who rose to become the first African managing director of LINTAS in 1974, did not mince words.  “During a meeting held in Lagos at the residence of late Rear-Admiral Augustus Aikhomu, who chaired the panel on the state division, Aikhomu announced that the split would align with the colonial-era boundaries of the old Delta and Benin Provinces a formula that would have torn the Anioma people apart, sending some to Delta and others to Edo.  “Moemeka’s plea was simple but powerful – ‘we are one people. Wherever we find ourselves, we must not be divided.’ “He was mocked and told that the Anioma people lacked a common language and that Ndokwa communities had always belonged to Delta Province. Moemeka didn’t flinch. Instead, he calmly asserted Anioma’s identity as Western Igbo, Igbo-speaking people with varying dialects but shared ancestry. His appeal changed the course of history,” the octogenarian explained.  The PUNCH gathered that against the odds, Anioma remained in one piece within Delta State. British influence The road to that fragmentation began not in the post-independence era but during the colonial conquest of Nigeria. The Anioma people had been marked for punishment as early as 1830, when the Lander Brothers; British explorers were captured and detained by an Anioma community suspicious of foreign intrusion.  That act of defiance would define Anioma’s fate for generations. When the British finally began their violent consolidation of territories, the Anioma region was one of the hardest hit. In 1880, the Royal Niger Company launched a brutal assault on Atani, killing civilians in what many now describe as outright genocide. By 1897, Onicha-Ado (now Onitsha) was bombarded. A year later, Ibusa was ambushed, but rather than retreat, Ibusa fighters launched the first salvo of what would become the Ekumeku War.  The Ekumeku resistance from 1883 to 1914 was not a single war but a series of coordinated uprisings by Anioma communities against British occupation.  While speaking on this issue, Senator Ned Nwoko told The PUNCH, “My great grandfather paid the ultimate price as one of the leaders of the Ekwumeku War. He was the Obi of Idumuje Ugboko. He was exiled in Calabar alongside his Ogwashi-Ukwu counterpart. The whites also exiled Oba Ovonramwen of Benin and King Jaja of opobo, all because they resisted the slave masters.  “There were local traitors, of course. We still have them to date. They are resisting Anioma State creation but their moves will fail because the clarion call for the creation of Anioma State has gone beyond one man’s quest but that of a vast majority of the peoples,” the Senator posited.  Corroborating Nwoko, Pa Dike Fidelis concluded, “In the end, Anioma wouldn’t just survive. It will endure its cry for unity, which still echoes.”  Anioma is simply asking to be recognised for what it is — a powerhouse hiding in plain sight, according to the people. “We cannot continue to go cap-in-hand to beg those appropriating our wealth,” a retired oil executive from Aboh said. “Anioma is ready. The nation must listen.”

Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, has kicked off the membership revalidation/registration exercise of the All Progressives Congress in the state, as he validated his membership at Ibiakpan Obotim Ward II, Nsit Ubium Local Government Area. The Governor who secured the registration number 001 in the party register, called on the party faithful and intending members to register at their different wards. “This exercise became necessary in order to validate and revalidate the authentic members of our Party. “All members and intending members of the Party are directed to get registered at their respective Wards to prove their true membership and loyalty to the Party,” he stressed. According to the Governor, the Party’s membership validation/registration exercise will go on for a period of one month before it will be temporarily closed. “At the end of the validation exercise, the new membership register will be recognized to serve as the authentic working document of the Party. “So, all Party faithful and supporters that progressively moved with me to the APC are expected to be fully involved in this registration and validation exercise in their respective Wards for us to formally know their stance and alignment with the party,” he said. Fielding questions from Government House Correspondents shortly after the registration, the Governor expressed satisfaction with the smooth conduct of the exercise and charged members of the Party to be patient and orderly during the registration process. “I feel good that I have validated my membership in the Party in my Ward. It is what every party member is expected to do to update at this time. “I feel good to join the Party. It is a deliberate calculation and a strategic move to link us to the centre in the interest of our State. “It is a decision to fully support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to continue with his laudable economic transformation of Nigeria, and also support our illustrious son, the Senate President, Chief Godswill Akpabio, to continue with his sterling leadership at the Senate. The Governor therefore, enjoined the people to continue to work in unity, peace, and love for a united Akwa Ibom, reiterating that a united people will always remain a progressive people. “As no one is able to break a bunch of broom, which is our Party’s symbol, let us continue to be united in oneness of purpose, common growth and greatness as a unique people of one ancestry. “Let no one divide us and set us up against ourselves. Make sure you are registered and the Party membership ticket issued to you. The Party’s membership registration exercise at Ibiakpan Obotim Ward II witnessed a large turnout of members and would-be members of the APC who were enthusiastic and excited to participate in the exercise.

Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has berated governors in the Southwest over what he described as failed governance, infrastructural decay, and reckless mismanagement of public funds. Falana, speaking on Wednesday as a panellist at the 2025 National Conference of Egbe Amofin O’dua, held in Abeokuta, Ogun State, accused state governments in the region of abandoning the people for personal enrichment, a sharp departure from the legacy of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. The conference, themed “Regional Justice, Security and Sustainable Development,” brought together several senior legal practitioners and stakeholders, including Dr Wahab Shittu (SAN), Mrs Titilayo Akinlawon (SAN), Chief Olumuyiwa Akinboro (SAN), and Mr Kayode Akinremi, Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, Abeokuta branch. Falana condemned what he described as misplaced priorities and wasteful expenditures by governors in the region, particularly criticising Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, for allocating N63bn for the rehabilitation of the Government House. “The governor of Oyo State, who comes to work from his private residence, now wants to rehabilitate the government house with N63bn, an amount that can provide good roads and electricity across the state,” he said. He also took a swipe at the Lagos State government, alleging that the state House of Assembly spent N45bn on utility vehicles in four years and was planning another N20bn allocation for the same purpose, even as large parts of the state suffer neglect. The human rights lawyer said the Southwest region may continue to regress unless political leaders, both at the state and local government, stay honest with the people and prioritise good governance and service to the people. Falana added, “We are always quick to shout about the misappropriation and reckless spending of public funds in Abuja but in Lagos, after spending N45bn to procure SUVs in the first four years, the state House of Assembly is planning to spend another N20bn on the purchase of utility vehicles, yet the people are wallowing in poverty.” The activist lawyer warned that the region was regressing due to widespread poverty, decaying education, and a lack of vision-driven leadership. Falana added, “Ikorodu has been submerged in the last three days. If it were to be abroad, they would be using the helicopter to go and drop food for the victims, but what is being done for the people? Nothing. “Similarly, the governor of Oyo State, who comes to work from his house now, wants to rehabilitate the government house with N63bn – the amount that is enough to provide good roads and electricity for the state.” “While people in Ikorodu have been submerged for days, no real emergency response has been provided. Abroad, they would deploy helicopters for food drops. But here, nothing,” Falana lamented. He pointed out that none of the Southwest states is up-to-date in accessing the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) funds, even as out-of-school children in Nigeria have ballooned to 18.3 million. He said, “Education is in bad shape; there is no Southwest today that is up-to-date in accessing the UBEC fund. There are 18.3 million out-of-school children, including children from the Southwest. “Today, the roads in the Southwest are terrible; infrastructurally, we are not there. Unfortunately, when they now want to flag off a road that they will not even complete, you will see them making so much noise, doing a ceremony; there is a need for a rethink.” He added, “Our children are now running to miracle centres. Only the children of the privileged few are still in school, while the region’s commonwealth is being privatised before our very eyes.” Falana also raised concerns over the growing influence of touts and street gangs in the region. “Area boys have taken over the Southwest — from Lagos to Abeokuta, even in the rural areas. You buy land, and you pay them to lay the foundation and to roof your building,” he said. “Our children are no longer going to school. You can’t buy a piece of land now and enjoy peaceful possession. As you are laying the foundation, you will see them. When you want to roof the building, you will see them again. “Go and look at the results of WAEC now. Two years ago, Ekiti came 28th, one year ago, Oyo and Osun came 28th and 27th. What is happening to us in the Southwest? “Our children now run to the miracle centres; the children are not going to schools again. Only children of the privileged few are going to school because of poverty, yet the commonwealth of our region is being privatised right before our very eyes.” He challenged legal practitioners to be more proactive in holding political leaders accountable, revealing that federal lawmakers inserted 11,000 constituency projects worth N6.9 trillion into the 2025 budget. He charged, “For the 2025 budget, Senators and members of the House of Representatives inserted 11,000 constituency projects valued at N6.9trn. “As lawyers, you must do more than sit and watch. Ask these lawmakers where the projects are cited and, if they are not giving any satisfactory answers, take them to court.” In his keynote address, former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Akin Olujinmi (SAN), called on legal practitioners to uphold justice, equity, and the rule of law. He praised the late former Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, for initiating the Amotekun Corps, noting the need for greater inter-state collaboration to boost the security outfit’s capacity. “The governments of the region must engage their people regularly and respond to their needs rather than initiating projects that are of no immediate relevance. The region is blessed with fertile land and a vibrant population. Youth empowerment must be a top priority,” Olujinmi said. President of Egbe Amofin O’dua, Mr Isiaka Olagunju (SAN), urged members to protect and defend Yoruba heritage, expressing concern over narratives portraying Lagos as “no man’s land.” Similarly, the leader of the Oodua Peoples Congress, Chief Gani Adams, advocated restructuring and true federalism as sustainable solutions to insecurity and economic instability across Nigeria. Chairman of the conference planning committee, Mr Olusegun Fabunmi (SAN), said a follow-up committee would be constituted to ensure that key resolutions — especially those on regional security and economic integration — are presented to relevant authorities for implementation.

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress and former Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Dr Bashir Jamoh, has said the Kaduna State governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, remains a stakeholder in the ruling party. Jamoh made the declaration amid swirling speculations about the former Kaduna State governor’s political allegiance during a press conference with journalists in Kaduna on Thursday, where he addressed recent claims linking El-Rufai with opposition parties ahead of the 2027 general elections. The former NIMASA boss acknowledged El-Rufai’s recent mention of other parties such as the Social Democratic Party and the African Democratic Congress, but insisted the former governor has not left the APC in any official capacity. He said, “As far as I’m concerned, this is my opinion — Malam Nasir El-Rufai is still with us. Yes, he mentioned his membership of the SDP. Yes, he mentioned the ADC. But we are yet to get to the point of bidding him farewell. He’s someone we still consult. We still seek his expertise, his knowledge, and his advice. Forget the politics for a moment. This is about public service. Whenever we need his advice, he gives it. And if he refuses to give it when asked, I believe God will ask him why.” Jamoh described the former governor as a political institution whose impact on the development of Kaduna State and the APC could not be easily dismissed. “You cannot disown your child of eight years. He was Minister under the PDP. He joined CPC, which merged into APC, and governed this state for eight years. He’s a part of our political history,” he added. While admitting that El-Rufai has the right to make personal political decisions, Jamoh said the APC in Kaduna would remain open to him. “If Malam today says he’s no longer with ADC, we’ll still remain with him. If he goes to ADC, we’ll wait and see how far the ADC goes,” he said. According to him, the ADC in the state was still struggling to establish its structure and could not pose a serious challenge to the APC. “We don’t even know who is who in the ADC yet. Yes, we hear he is the North-West leader of the ADC, but as far as Kaduna is concerned, they are underperforming,” he said. Jamoh also addressed concerns over whether the APC could withstand the threat of the former governor aligning with an opposition party. He argued that since El-Rufai had exhausted his constitutional limit of two terms as governor, the focus should not be on him as an individual but on the strength of any party he associates with. “Are you talking about El-Rufai or the ADC? Nasir El-Rufai cannot contest for governorship again. That chapter is closed. So, the question is whether ADC or any opposition party can defeat the APC in this state — and I say no,” he said. Speaking metaphorically, Jamoh added, “In Hausa, there’s a proverb: when you grind your corn, you can’t throw the whole thing into a pot because it’ll be too heavy. APC is too heavy for any party here. “Maybe you don’t know Kaduna politics very well. Go and take an independent survey today. Who stands a chance of winning the gubernatorial election after Uba Sani? Check opposition parties. Who and who among them can challenge the APC? We have more than 10 capable candidates. I challenge you — do the research.” While conceding that the APC faces some internal challenges, Jamoh maintained that the party remained Kaduna’s dominant political force and was already taking steps to address concerns. “Yes, there are challenges. I agree. But we are addressing them. That’s why I’m speaking to you now. Don’t fall for the propaganda that people are leaving in droves. “Don’t throw away what you have because you think the opposition can beat APC. Remember where you invested. One day, you will reap the benefit of that investment,” he said.