LAGOS MARCH 23RD (URHOBOTODAY)-Businessman and CEO of DAS Energy Limited, Chief Sunny Onuesoke has faulted the Federal Government  exclusion of  ports located in other parts of Nigeria in the £746m agreement signed with  the United Kingdom aimed at modernising Apapa and Tin Can Island ports in Lagos.

Recall that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu witnessed the signing of a £746 million financing agreement in London between Nigeria’s Ministry of Finance, led by Wale Edun, and Citi Bank. The agreement signed in the United Kingdom on Thursday is aimed at modernising Apapa and Tin Can Island ports in Lagos.

Reacting to the agreement in a telephone chat with our correspondent, Onuesoke demanded that the money voted for the modernization of Lagos ports should be spread in the development of Warri port,  Onne port and  Calabar port  among others.  He stated that the development of the South-South ports will bring even economic development to the country.

He  lamented  that the Government  has allocated  such huge amount to Apapa Wharf and Tin-Island Ports in Lagos  alone, when  Warri port, Onne Port, Koko Port and Calabar port  among others who are of more commercial importance are abandoned.

“Why did you decide to secure  finance for  upgrading or over hauling of Tin-Can Island and Apapa Wharf?  Why do you deliberately sideline other commercial ports?  Is Lagos  more industrial or economically viable than Port Harcourt and Warri in strength of the oil in Nigeria that feed the nation?  What is wrong in developing the Onne Port that is especially for oil facilitates that feed the nation? What is wrong to develop the Warri Port?  What is wrong to rehabilitate the Calabar port or even Koko port? Why are we sticking to only Tin-Island and Apapa Wharf?

“Must every ship  come to  Lagos?  How will you want to tell someone who want to import a material in the oil industry. You will want them to ship the material to Lagos ports and spend huge amount to transport them to their location in the Niger Delta region which is the hub of oil production? “ Onuesoke queried.

The former Delta State gubernatorial aspirant said it is funny  that United Kingdom which Nigeria signed the agreement with has  approximately 120 commercial seaports, ranging from major container hubs to smaller specialized facilities which handle about 95% of the country’s international trade, including top ports like Felixstowe (largest container port), Immingham (largest by tonnage), and Dover (busiest ferry port).

“The British  who are about 40m people have 120 ports.  Is it not funny that Nigeria with over about 200 million people, they are giving us just only one port in Lagos.  Why  will the government defend an economic policy that favour only Lagos at the expense of other regions? There is no economic benefit to Nigeria in the visit of Mr President went to in United Kingdom. Whose employment will it create?  It is either you created it for the key companies in UK that has not been fairing for sometime in term of trade or you created jobs for the British. There is no economic benefit to that,” he stated.

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