Port Development: Don’t put your eggs in one basket – Nigerians tell FG

Hail UK deal, but point to other ports that need attention

With the sealing of a £746 million deal between Nigeria and the United Kingdom during President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s recent visit to the United Kingdom (UK), hope rises for the face-lift of Lagos sea ports.

As the president disclosed, the landmark financing deal between the UK Export Finance (UKEF) and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and Federal Ministry of Finance, will support the refurbishment and expansion of the Lagos Port Complex (Apapa Quays) and the Tin Can Island Port Complex, two of Nigeria’s major national maritime infrastructure.

Many have also commended the president on the deal, considering the congestion and pressure on the two major maritime infrastructure in Lagos.

“Traffic in Apapa is a bit manageable now, but that does not in any way reflect activities at the ports, which keep increasing every time. The expansion is a welcome development. All the stakeholders should encourage it,” Abimbola Awoniyi, a maritime executive, said.

He also noted that it is payback time for the ports, which have earned trillions of naira in revenue to the government across the years.

In the same vein, Edwin Udoye, a freight forwarder, pointed out that the government has increased all charges at the ports, and that its agencies, especially Customs make outrageous revenue every day, hence the planned refurbishment, according to him, is not out of place as long as it will not disrupt business at the ports.

“The current charges at the ports are many and very high. It should not only be hike in fees and charges all the time, the government should also take care of the port infrastructure to encourage smooth operations, efficiency and safety for the workers,” Udoye said.

Yet, others, who also commended President Tinubu on the deal, think that the planned refurbishment should not be for Lagos ports alone, as other port facilities across the country equally need, even more attention.

They are insisting that Nigeria can have as many ports as possible, but that they all should be fully operational, rather than the situation where only ports in Lagos are fully operational.

Expressing his concern over the trend, Frank Ngwu, a professor of Strategy, noted that Egypt has over 40 seaports, Morocco has 10, but Nigeria has only two major seaports despite its extensive coastline.

While the development is creating a significant infrastructure gap, it also queries why port facilities in the Eastern ports of Calabar, Warri and Port Harcourt are not optimally utilised.

The professor blamed the congestion and increased costs on the limited infrastructure, concentrated primarily in the Lagos Port Complex and Tin Can Island Port, insisting that it is hindering Nigeria’s ability to fully benefit from the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Shadrach Onoriode, a Warri-based politician, argued that the government seems intentional at concentrating full port operations at Lagos ports, while many are lying fallow across the Eastern ports.

“They told us that big vessels are not coming to Calabar Port because it is shallow. But they can dredge it. They told us that Port Harcourt and Warri ports have safety and security issues, yet crude oil drilling is ongoing, and they close their eyes to organised oil theft.

The government needs to be sincere with us because everything is either in Lagos or Abuja. That is very bad for 36 states and over 200 million people,” Onoriode, a former NPA senior staff, decried.

He called on President Tinubu, NPA and the UKEF to consider Eastern ports in the planned refurbishment.

For Marcel Nkwagu, an entrepreneur and member of the Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ECCIMA), the federal government needs to consider other ports outside Lagos to ease the congestion, costs and logistics for businesses.

“I still import from Lagos while Port Harcourt is closer. I don’t mind going to Warri or Calabar ports, but are they functional? It seems the government doesn’t want those ports to function at full capacity and also doesn’t mind the revenue it is losing,” Nkwagu noted.

He argued that if the government and its supporters cite insecurity, shallow waters, restive communities, among others as reasons Eastern ports are not getting face-lift and business, why then are elections held in those areas despite the so-called challenges and why is the government not giving opportunities to private developers as it does in Lagos.

“We are not saying stop work in Lagos. No, increase the work at Lagos ports, but also give face-lift to other ports outside Lagos so that businesses that depend on the ports can breathe. The high cost of logistics is killing our business, when closer ports can reduce cost by half,” he said.

Taking it from a political perspective, Kunle Anjorin, a politician, argued that President Tinubu is a ‘Lagos man,’ and a former governor here and needs to serve his constituency.

“He feels he needs to prove that he comes from here. I don’t see anything wrong with that because other presidents have done the same while in power,” Anjorin said.

But in a seeming balancing argument, Dele Badore, a maritime lawyer, noted that the planned refurbishment is not a new project, rather it has been on stream since late 2023 or early 2024 but the government has not secured finance to fund it until now.

“When the NPA proposed the $USD1 billion port redevelopment project, there is a portion that will go to the Eastern ports, particularly Rivers port.

I don’t know the scope of this recent funding from the UK, but the truth remains that Lagos is still a host to Nigeria’s most viable seaports.

Investors will naturally put their money where the returns will be high, including refurbishment, ” Anjorin said.

Rather than envy Lagos, Anjorin urged other states to make efforts, investment commitments and safety to attract investors or lure the federal government for approvals of big projects like deep sea ports.

“As for Akwa Ibom Deep Seaport, the major bottleneck is funding. It requires $4.2bn. I am not sure the FG sees that as a potentially lucrative project. So, I see it stalling until Akwa Ibom finds reliable investors like Lagos did with the Lekki port.

“As for Cross River, I think the state has secured $3.5bn for the project. I am not sure what is holding back the project. I think Akwa Ibom and Cross River should team up and set up one deep seaport. Not sure how two deep seaports should be sited in two contingent states,” he concluded.

But Onoriode and Nkwagu countered the above, saying that if the federal government wades in, the Akwa Ibom Deep Seaport will become a reality and that nothing stops two deep seaports being close to each other.

“How far is the Apapa Port to Tin Can and the Lekki Port is also there. We need the federal government to refurbish Eastern ports and support development of deep seaports here too.

It shouldn’t be all about drilling and exporting crude oil. There should be more port facilities for other experts and imports too. This will reduce costs for businesses here and boost revenue from taxes,” Onoriode said.

On his part, Nkwagu lamented that if there is a major security issue or environmental issue like a tsunami in Lagos, other ports put together cannot handle the huge volumes of Apapa and Tin Can ports.

“Refurbish ports outside Lagos to increase their capacity to handle more cargoes, reduce congestion at Lagos ports, the associated traffic on Lagos roads, costs and logistics for businesses close to those ports,” Nkwagu charged the federal government.

In their conclusion, many concerned people noted that giving attention to ports outside Lagos is equity, diversification, new openings and giving businesses in those areas opportunities to thrive on lower operational costs, amid more revenue for the government.(BusinessDay)