By Ogar Monday
The member representing Abi/Yakurr in the Green Chambers, Hon. Alex Egbona has called on the Federal Government (FG) to complete the dredging of the Calabar seaport for maximum economic activities.
Hon. Egbona who made the call earlier today at the floor of the House of Representatives urged the FG to revisit the agreement in 2014 and rearward the contract to bring back life to the Calabar Port and to help decongest the Lagos port.
The motion which was included in the order paper for today’s plenary and seen by our reporter partly reads:
“The House notes that the Calabar Seaport is the oldest in Nigeria that ships goods like palm oil to Europe and other parts of the world in the sixteenth century.
“Also notes that the port was privately operated by various shipping companies including John Holts until December 1969 when the Federal Government took over the port’s facilities from the erstwhile operators and vested it on the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).
“Further notes that the development, modernization, and expansion of the port complex was embarked upon under the third National Development Plan of 1975-1980 and commissioned on 9 June 1979 by the Military administration of General Olusegun Obasanjo.”
The motion further held that “In 2014, former President Goodluck Jonathan initiated the Calabar Channel Management (CCM), a Joint Venture company between the Nigerian Ports Authority and a consortium of companies led by Niger Global Engineering and Technical Company Limited with a mandate to dredge the port” but that “the port is yet to be dredged till date.”
The House, therefore, resolved to: “The Federal Government should re-award the contract for the dredging of the Calabar seaport to a reputable company with a mandate to complete the project within a specified time frame. NPA should supervises the project and ensures that standard depth is established to enable larger vessels to berth in line with international best practices.”