The Illusion of Autonomy: How Institutional Overlaps Undermine Land Security in Nigeria’s Petroleum Special Economic Zones

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@article{1717132,
      author = {Prof. Abdullahi Yahaya Adadu, Assoc. Prof Canice E. Erunke, Morgan Uzoigwe C. Mmahi},
      title = {The Illusion of Autonomy: How Institutional Overlaps Undermine Land Security in Nigeria’s Petroleum Special Economic Zones},
      journal = {Iconic Research And Engineering Journals},
      year = {2026},
      volume = {9},
      number = {10},
      pages = {3900-3909},
      issn = {2456-8880},
      url = {https://www.irejournals.com/formatedpaper/1717132.pdf},
      abstract = {Special Economic Zones (SEZs) are often lauded for their “regulatory autonomy” or specifically, the ability to operate outside national bureaucratic constraints.  Yet in Nigeria’s Petroleum SEZs referred to as Oil and Gas Free Zones (OGFZs), this autonomy remains largely illusory due to persistent institutional overlaps between federal agencies and state governments over land and other governance issues in the Zones.  This article analyzes how jurisdictional conflicts between the Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority (OGFZA), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and State land authorities have created a “governance vacuum” that undermines land security, deters investment, and fueled community discontent between 2015 and 2025.  Using process-tracing and stakeholder interviews across eight OGFZs, the study identifies three conflict archetypes: (1) Port-Zone Duality, where NPA and OGFZA operate contradictory land use regulations; (2) Federal-State Pressure, where state governors’ control over OGFZ land contest federal designation; and (3) Local-Developer Disputes, where communities challenge land acquisitions for lacking free, prior, and informed consent.  The research introduces the “Institutional Overlap Index” (IOI) to quantify jurisdictional fragmentation and finds a strong negative correlation (r = -0.79) between IOI scores and investor confidence.  The study concludes that Nigeria’s OGFZs cannot achieve their economic potential without statutory reforms that clarify land ownership, cede administrative control to OGFZA, and establish multi-level governance forums for conflict resolution.},
      keywords = {Institutional Overlap, Land Security, Regulatory Autonomy, Special Economic Zones, Nigeria},
      month = {April},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.64388/IREV9I10-1717132}
  }