Eba Leads Rubber Revival Push, Faults Cross River Oil Palm Plan

The Chairman of the Governing Board of the Rubber Research Institute of Nigeria (RRIN), Alphonsus Ogar Eba, has called for urgent government intervention to revive Nigeria’s rubber industry, while faulting Cross River State’s reported plan to replace rubber trees with oil palm.

Eba made the call during the first International Rubber Conference hosted in Nigeria, held in Benin City, Edo State, from October 19 to 22, 2026, according to a communiqué released to journalists on Saturday.

The conference, organised by RRIN in conjunction with the International Rubber Research Development Board (IRRDB), brought together more than 200 participants from Nigeria and other rubber-producing countries, including Thailand, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Cambodia, Liberia, Myanmar and Ghana.

Held under the theme, “Sustainable Rubber: Innovations for Climate Resilience and Circular Economy,” the conference featured scientific presentations and discussions on research, production, processing, manufacturing and investment opportunities in the rubber value chain.

Eba, a former chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Cross River State and the current deputy governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, decried what he described as the neglect of the rubber industry by successive governments.

He praised the late Premier of the former Eastern Region, Michael Okpara, for establishing rubber plantations that helped Nigeria become a leading producer of natural rubber in Africa.

According to Eba, Nigeria has since fallen behind Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia, while Ghana and Cameroon are working to strengthen their positions in the sector.

He acknowledged efforts by former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration to revitalise the industry and urged the Tinubu administration to sustain efforts to restore Nigeria’s position in rubber production.

Eba appealed to governments at the federal and state levels to give greater attention to the sector, warning that inadequate funding had constrained its development.

He described rubber as “an orphaned cash crop” compared with commodities such as cocoa and oil palm, which he said had received greater attention.

He added that reviving the sector would require “a fearless, relentless commitment by all well-meaning Nigerians” and sustained advocacy to secure government support.

The conference also featured presentations by participants from Thailand and Côte d’Ivoire on the economic potential of rubber and its contribution to their respective economies.

As part of the event, delegates visited Okomu Oil Palm Company in Edo State, where they inspected a 5,000-hectare rubber plantation and processing facility and met with the company’s acting managing director, Mr Leo, and other management officials.

Eba commended the company’s investment in rubber production and processing, saying the visit had exposed participants to the scale of its operations beyond oil palm.

The visit also prompted him to raise concerns about the management of rubber plantations in Cross River State, particularly Cross River Rubber Estate Limited, also known as Enghut Industries Limited, and its reported concession arrangements involving Wilmar.

Eba faulted the reported directive to replace rubber trees with oil palm, arguing that the decision could undermine rubber production if productive trees were removed.

He said old rubber trees aged between 50 and 60 years could be felled and replaced with improved varieties but maintained that younger trees should be preserved where they remained suitable for tapping.

“Although it is not out of place to fell old rubber trees of 50 to 60 years and replace same with new clones, the blanket directives to Wilmar to fell all the rubber trees, including young clones of between nine to 11 years at Odukpani area along Ikom to Calabar road, is most unfortunate,” Eba said.

He urged RRIN’s management to engage Wilmar to ensure that viable younger trees were retained to support production and provide raw materials for processing facilities in the state.

Eba said a rubber processing facility with a capacity of one tonne per hour was operating in Biase, while a latex-products facility in the Calabar Export Processing Zone was producing condoms and rubber bands and expanding its capacity to manufacture hand gloves and other products.

He also questioned the reported approval of more than N600 million by the Cross River State Government for a rubber research institute in Creek Town, the governor’s home community.

According to Eba, RRIN had proposed establishing a research outstation for the South-South geopolitical zone at Okomita in Odukpani Local Government Area, near an existing rubber plantation.

He argued that the proposed outstation would support research and development in the region’s rubber-producing areas.

The RRIN chairman further raised concerns over reports that 2,000 hectares of the Uyanga plantation in Biase had been earmarked for oil palm cultivation. He alleged that the land was intended for a private farm belonging to Cross River State Governor Bassey Otu.

The allegations concerning the plantation concession, the proposed replacement of rubber trees and the reported private-farm arrangement were contained in Eba’s remarks. The communiqué did not include responses from the Cross River State Government or Wilmar to the claims.

Despite his political engagements ahead of the 2027 elections, Eba said he remained committed to efforts to revive rubber production in Nigeria and restore the country’s position in the sector.

The conference ended with the delegates’ visit to Okomu Oil, where they examined the company’s rubber production and processing operations.

RRIN is a Federal Government research institute mandated to conduct research into natural rubber (Hevea brasiliensis), gum arabic and other latex-bearing plants.

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