By Ephraim Oseji

Businessman and CEO of DAS Energy Limited, Chief Sunny Onuesoke, has faulted Federal Government decision to exclude ports located in other parts of Nigeria in the £746m agreement signed with the United Kingdom aimed at modernising Apapa and Tin Can Island ports in Lagos.

Recall that President Bola Tinubu witnessed the signing of a £746 million financing agreement in London between Nigeria’s Ministry of Finance, led by Wale Edun, and Citi Bank. The agreement signed in the United Kingdom on Thursday is aimed at modernising Apapa and Tin Can Island ports in Lagos.

Reacting to the agreement in a telephone chat with our correspondent, Onuesuoke demanded that the money voted for the modernisation of Lagos ports should be spread in the development of Warri port, Onne port and Calabar port among others. He stated that the development of the South-South ports will bring even economic development to the country.

He lamented that the government has allocated such a huge amount to Apapa Wharf and Tin-Island Ports in Lagos alone, when Warri port, Onne Port, Koko Port and Calabar port among others which are of more commercial importance are abandoned.

“Why did you decide to secure finance for upgrading or over hauling Tin-Can Island and Apapa Wharf? Why do you deliberately sideline other commercial ports? Is Lagos more industrial or economically viable than Port Harcourt and Warri in strength of the oil in Nigeria that feeds the nation? What is wrong in developing the Onne Port that is especially for oil facilitates that feed the nation? What is wrong with developing the Warri Port? What is wrong with rehabilitating the Calabar port or even Koko port? Why are we sticking to only Tin-Island and Apapa Wharf?

“Must every ship come to Lagos? How would you tell someone who wants to import a material in the oil industry? Do you want them to ship the material to Lagos ports and spend huge amounts to transport them to their location in the Niger Delta region which is the hub of oil production?” Onuesoke queried.

The former Delta State gubernatorial aspirant said it is funny that United Kingdom which Nigeria signed the agreement with has approximately 120 commercial seaports, ranging from major container hubs to smaller specialized facilities which handle about 95% of the country’s international trade, including top ports like Felixstowe (largest container port), Immingham (largest by tonnage), and Dover (busiest ferry port).

“The British, who are about 40m people, have 120 ports. Is it not funny that Nigeria with over 200 million people, they are giving us just one port in Lagos. Why will the government defend an economic policy that favour only Lagos at the expense of other regions? There is no economic benefit to Nigeria in the visit Mr President went to in the United Kingdom.

“Whose employment will it create? It is either you created it for the key companies in the UK that have not been fairing for some time in terms of trade or you created jobs for the British. There is no economic benefit to that,” he stated.