Deplorable Eleme-Onne road: ANLCA laments hardship, losses on maritime industry operators
Barth Ndubuwah, Port Harcourt
The Chairman, Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Onne Seaport Chapter, Rivers State, Mr. Mike Ebeatu, has called on the media to form a coalition and speak in one voice, with a view to forcing the Federal Government and other relevant stakeholders to reconstruct the dilapidated Eleme-Onne portion of the East/West Road, which he said has caused untold hardship to maritime industry operators along that axis over the years.
This, he said has resulted to huge loss of lives, manhour revenue, goods and services on daily basis, which would have been averted with the quick intervention of the Federal Government, if they had done the needful.
Mr. Ebeatu threw a challenge to the media while receiving the newly inaugurated Executive of Igbo Journalists Forum (IJOF), Rivers State Chapter who paid him a courtesy visit in Port Harcourt.
He challenged the media group to continue to be the true voice of the people by speaking out against the ills of the society and the deplorable state of the Eleme/Onne Road, which ironically produces 80 per cent of the country’s revenue but remained abandoned by the powers that be without any justifiable reason.
“Leadership comes with responsibility and journalists are like drivers, voice of the people. You should have a force (common voice) to disseminate the right information to the people, adequately,” Ebeatu said.
The ANLCA Chapter Chairman, who further lamented the condition of the Onne road despite the Nigeria Customs Service high revenue generation at the Onne Seaport, wondered why such asset should be neglected by the Federal Government for so long.
Ebeatu, while describing Nigeria as a ‘sweet country,’ compared to what he has seen in some other parts of the world, identified: insecurity, bad road infrastructure and lack of power (electricity) as the three major factors facing the progress and development of Nigeria as a country.
He lauded and encouraged the Exco of IJOF to remain focused in its responsibility as watchdog of the society, assuring to partner the Forum to ensure the success of its end of year programme.
Earlier in his address, the President of IJOF, Mr Isaac Mbah who spoke on the programme of activities that were lined up for the upcoming event, appreciated Mr. Ebeatu on the leadership quality that he has exhibited in managing the affairs of ANLCA, Onne Seaport Chapter and other selfless contributions to the service of other ssociations and society at large.
Mbah thanked their host for the warm reception and wished him well in all his endeavours.
