Nigeria, Nov. 9 -- President Bola Tinubu's latest declaration that he has approved the Ibom Deep Seaport project in Akwa Ibom State has raised questions about what exactly has changed since the Federal Executive Council (FEC), under the late President Muhammadu Buhari, approved the project's first phase in December 2020.

While Governor Umo Eno has described Mr Tinubu's intervention as a landmark approval of the project's financing arrangement, sources involved in the project's technical engagements across two administrations suggest the state may not have needed another federal approval to proceed with its original investment structure.

This is because the 2020 approval reportedly authorised Akwa Ibom State to seek private investors and...