Stakeholders call for Amaechi probe over on Baro port, others
By Seun Ibiyemi
Stakeholders in the Nigerian maritime industry have called for Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi probe over his comments on the rehabilitation of Baro port being a waste of public funds.
Recall that the Minister was seen on live Television programme de-marketing the four river ports, that is after the Government had committed several billions of Naira.
The four River ports are located in Anambra, Imo, Kogi and Niger states.
In a statement the Executive Director, Maritime Advocacy Initiative (MAIN), Mr. Sesan Onileimo said that it was shocking to watch a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; in this case, the Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi recently on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), that the investment on these ports were a huge waste of taxpayers monies.
He said, “How dare Mr Amaechi insult the collective intelligence of Nigerians, the nation’s transport sector, and most especially, indigenes of the states and towns where those river ports are located? How could he willfully waste so much money on projects he understood to be worthless.
“As the Minister of Transportation, can Amaechi on oath, say that these ports that he glowingly condemned were not subjected to feasibility study. If they were, what was the verdict?
“Hasn’t the Minister heard of S.W.O.T Analysis. Were these river ports subjected to analysis in terms of their Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat?
“Mr Amaechi inherited four river ports, including Onitsha River port of which was fully completed, while three were at different stages of completion, yet he threw his weight behind the projects and caused government to commit funds, only for him to turn round and say they were never meant to be viable!
“It is to the credit of the Federal Ministry of Transportation, under Mr. Amaechi that Baro was completed, and the duo of Lokoja and Oguta were still undergoing construction. Oguta is about 61% completed, while no one can ascertain the level of completion at the Lokoja port.
“As the superintending Minister whose portfolio includes water transportation. These river ports which the Minister openly declared as worthless are the ones known as Lokoja river port, Baro river port, Onitsha river port and Oguta river ports.”
On the four ports, he said: “I had this conversation with my friend, Senator Goje about the viability of the river ports that we have including Onitsha, Baro, Lokoja and Oguta river ports and I felt that it was a waste of funds”.
“Honorable Minister, you knew that they were a waste of fund, yet you made the Federal Government to commit billions into their construction?.”
While admitting that the river ports would only be useful if the River Niger was dredged, he declared also that, “for you to have those river ports functional, you must have to dredge River Niger. For now, even if you dredge, it is still 2.5 to 3 metre draft, which determines the vessel that can go there and the minimum you can have is a six-metre vessel.
“So you also knew that the approaches to these river ports were too shallow to be dredged to permissible draught for badges, yet you convinced Government to invest in them?”
“Then, Minister boastfully dropped the bombshell. There is absolutely no vessel that will come in there at 2.5 to 3 metres draft.
“Apart from the draft limitation which he alluded to, the Minister also shamelessly acknowledged that Baro port, especially, is not viable and cannot enjoy the patronage of importers.”
He went ahead to add a clincher: “The idea when the Baro port was concessioned is that, you pick up a cargo maybe in Warri or Port Harcourt because Lagos is too far, and put it on a barge and move it to Baro. But how many times will the barge be able to move those cargoes to Baro?
“So, Amaechi knew very well that the distance between Warri port in Delta state and Port Harcourt port in Rivers state is too long to make Baro port serviceable by badges, yet he recommended its completion and deceived President Muhammadu Buhari to commission the river port?”
In his words, “for the man who imports through Lagos or Port Harcourt, if he puts it on a train, he arrives the same day, and there is no issue of insecurity unlike the man who has taken the cargo from Port Harcourt seaport to Baro by barge.
“The Minister spoke further like a typical Nigerian politician that he is. He cared less about the huge funds that have been expended on the two ports that have been completed and not functional and the two that are yet to be completed.”
