Rep. Onofiok Luke has noted that President Buhari’s approval of the Ibom Deep Seaport project is a step closer to resolving the challenges of gridlock on the Apapa Wharf Road.
The Representative, who represents Etinan/Nsit Ibom/Nsit Ubium Federal Constituency of Akwa Ibom, made this in a statement in Uyo, describing the approval as a welcome development.
READ: Spanish firm to meet Akeredolu over Ondo deep seaport project
According to a news report by NAN, Rep. Luke thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for approving the Ibom Deep Seaport project in the state and called the approval a welcome development given the socio-economic benefits embedded in the Deep Seaport project.
READ: FG approves $3 billion Port Harcourt-Maiduguri railway and $462 million Bonny deep seaport
What they are saying
Rep. Luke in his statement said:
- “The approval was a step closer to resolving challenges of gridlock on Apapa Wharf Road, which had brought untold hardship to Nigerians and business owners in the country. I give special commendation to His Excellency, Mr Udom Emmanuel, who has shown immense commitment to the realisation of this vision by doggedly employing a bipartisanship approach to ensuring the granting of the license.
- “Let me also pay tribute to His Excellency, Obong Victor Attah, who conceptualized the vision and Sen. Godswill Akpabio, for also pursuing the vision within his own capacity during his tenure of office. The task ahead of all of us now is to ensure targeted special training and capacity development for our people to meet the demands of the vistas that beckon.
- “We must all come together to support Gov. Udom Emmanuel’s administration to succeed in delivering this all-important project, being a critical component of the completion agenda. With bipartisanship approach like this towards governance, we can achieve more for our people.”
READ: China Development Bank, Sanwo-Olu sign $629m facility to complete Lekki Deep Seaport
What you should know
- The Ibom Deep Sea Port will be built on a stretch of 14,400ha acquired for the project.
- The Port is a Federal Government project driven by the Nigerian Port Authority & Federal Ministry of Transport, Akwa-Ibom state, with Global Maritime & Port Services PTE Limited as the transaction driver.
- The deep seaport will be for large vessels that can load over 13 thousand containers in one voyage.
- It will be a transhipment port (enabling movement of one vessel to another while in transit to its final destination) as smaller vessels will re-distribute cargo from the mega vessels to seaports, river ports closer to the entities financially responsible for the receipt of a shipment.
READ: Promoters of Badagry Deep Seaport are dragging FG to court; here’s why
Why the Ibom deep seaport matters
In line with his statement, the Deep Seaport has the capacity of becoming a major national and regional economic gateway, this would help to open up economic potentials that were once locked and foster movement of goods and the operations of businesses.
It would also create employment opportunities and wealth for the people directly and indirectly.
READ: Lekki Deep Sea Port must be operational by 2022 – Amaechi
Rep. Luke emphasized that the task ahead is in terms of engagement and assured Nigerians, targeted special training and capacity development for stakeholders would enable the project to meet the demands of the vistas that beckon.
