Maritime editors fault Sanwo-Olu on NPA eastern ports drive

The League of Maritime Editors (LOME) has faulted Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State over a statement credited to him criticizing the efforts of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to deepen operations of the south eastern ports for increased trade facilitation

Specifically, the seaports include Warri, Delta State, Onne, Rivers State and Calabar, Cross River State, where NPA has been encouraging shippers for patronage instead of relying only on the Lagos ports, a development that has continued to cause traffic congestion over the years forcing the authority to introduce electronic call up system

The President of the League of Maritime Editors, Mrs Remi Itie, and Secretary General, Mr Felix Kumuyi, in a statement, said it was wrong for the governor to interfere with the operations of the NPA in a bid to stop other seaports in the country from being developed.

The League described the statement by Sanwo-Olu as a clear case of demonstration of obsession with Lagos dominance in the bid to stop aspirations of other regions.

Part of the statement from the League read:”The League of Maritime Editors (LOME) feels strongly embarrassed by the vituperation of Governor Sanwo-Olu and recommends the idea that Lagos is Nigeria’s economic destiny be re-evaluated.

“ Nigeria is a federation, not a fiefdom. The idea that Lagos alone must remain the unrivaled commercial gateway is both arrogant and unsustainable. For decades, the over-concentration of port activities in Apapa and Tin Can has created monumental congestion, corruption, and inefficiency. Truck extortion, racketeering, and a broken e-call-up system are not the inventions of the Nigerian Ports Authority; they are the direct consequences of Lagos’ failure to manage its own infrastructure and regulatory environment.

“To now resist the decentralization of port operations to Warri, Onne, or Calabar is to insist that Nigeria’s economy remain shackled to Lagos’ dysfunction. Equity demands decentralization.”

culled from vanguard.