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Despite increasing efforts to ensure ease of doing business in the Eastern ports, national trustee member of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), Comrade Waite Harry, says the Federal Government is not doing enough to develop the ports in the region.
Waite’s comment comes as the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), concerned over the congestion at the ports in Lagos, has begun diverting some vessel traffic to other ports in the country, including the Eastern ports.
In a chat with our correspondent in Port Harcourt, Waite agreed that the Federal Government has laudable plans for the Eastern ports, comprising Onne, Rivers, Warri and Calabar ports, but argued that such plans are far from being implemented.
“The Federal Government has good plans, especially when we talk about the deep sea, Bonny, Warri and the rest of them. But one thing is to have plans, the other is the implementation. The implementation is not there.
“One can look at what is happening in this part of the country. I can tell you that the federal presence is not here. You can see the roads leading into the ports, the rail infrastructure and others.”
He argued that “some of the things that we are suffering in this area are politically motivated. You know that some of the states we have are PDP states, and not APC states. These are some of the reasons our parts are not well looked at.
“What we are seeing here cannot be seen in the Western parts. But because of some politically-motivated issues, they are not doing anything here,” Waite Harry said.
He was responding to claims that lack of funds might be militating against the development of the Eastern ports, as he stressed that the issues of politics should not form basis for considerations and decisions affecting the development of ports in the Eastern part of Nigeria.
“These ports are owned by the Federal Government. The throughput, whatever that comes from the ports goes to the federal purse. It is not for the states.
“So we should leave politics aside and look at governance for now. The days of election are over. We are talking of one Nigeria now, of things that can be done in the Eastern ports,” he said.
Waite Harry pointed out that the Federal Government needs to do more to ensure these ports have excellent berths, pilotage and security infrastructure, among others.
However, according to Mr. Martin Giadom, chairman of the Energy, Maritime Reporters (EMR), umbrella association of reporters in the South South region covering the energy and maritime sectors, “the Federal Government, through the Nigerian Ports Authority and the management teams in the Eastern zone have taken it upon themselves to change the narrative in this part of the country, and they are a significant difference.
“The volume of vessel and cargo traffic has increased as a result of this. Ships, with over 260 meters in length that were previously thought too large to call at the Eastern ports have started berthing here. These are among other positives that we are currently seeing now,” he said.