Ibom Deep Seaport: Stop Paying Lip Service, Show Commitment—Mboho Mkparawa Ibibio Tells FG
...Says £746 Million For Lagos Ports, $7bn For Ogun While Ibom Seaport Remains On Paper
A leading socio-cultural organisation in Akwa Ibom State, Mboho Mkparawa Ibibio (MMI), has expressed concern over what it described as the federal government’s “lip service” to the Ibom Deep Seaport project, demanding immediate financial commitment and a clear timeline for construction.
The group, in a press statement signed by its International Public Relations Officer, Akparawa (Pst.) Idongesit Ikono, and made available to media houses in Uyo, expressed deep concern over the continued neglect of the strategic port while billions are committed to ports in the Lagos axis.
MMI noted that while it welcomes development anywhere in Nigeria, it is troubling that the Federal Government has committed £746 million for the rehabilitation of Apapa and Tin Can Island Ports and a reported $7 billion for the Gateway Deep Sea Port and Blue Marine Economic Zone in Ogun State, both in the Lagos axis, while the Ibom Deep Seaport remains largely on paper.
“You cannot build a national economy around one congested gateway. The dangerous concentration of port activities in Lagos has choked our roads, crippled logistics, triggered endless demurrage, and imposed additional costs on Nigerian businesses and consumers. It is economically unsustainable,” the statement read.
The socio-cultural body argued that Nigeria does not need more concentration but more functional ports, stressing that the Ibom Deep Seaport is not a favour to Akwa Ibom but a strategic national asset — a natural deep-water gateway to the Gulf of Guinea and a potential maritime hub for the South-South and South-East capable of decongesting Lagos.
MMI further lamented that despite Akwa Ibom’s huge contributions to the nation’s oil and gas economy, the state has no corresponding strategic federal maritime infrastructure.
It therefore demanded the “immediate financial commitment and a clear construction timeline for the Ibom Deep Seaport.
It demanded “accelerated completion of the East-West Road and the Calabar-Itu Highway, which it said has been downgraded by the Federal Government to a single carriageway from the original dual carriageway awarded by the previous administration.
“Clarification from the Akwa Ibom State Government on the current status of the Ibom Deep Seaport project, particularly regarding the reported France trip for the technical review of the project with potential investors.
“The Ibom Deep Seaport must not be reduced to another election-season project or political talking point. Akwa Ibomites and Nigerians are watching.
“We demand a balanced and economically rational port policy driven by the national interest, rather than excessive sectional concentration. Enough promises. Show us commitment. Show us timelines. Start construction,” the statement concluded.
