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NIWA laments lack of security, vehicles, poor staffing at Onitsha, Warri ports

By Sulaimon Salau and Bertram Nwannekanma
16 November 2018   |   3:25 am
The Nigeria Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has identified lack of security, vehicles and insufficient workers as bane to operations at Onitsha and Warri ports.

National Inland Waterway Authority

• Bollore Consortium emerges preferred bidder for Ibom port project
The Nigeria Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has identified lack of security, vehicles and insufficient workers as bane to operations at Onitsha and Warri ports.

The Onitsha and Warri Area Office Managers of NIWA stated this during a familiarisation tour by the Managing Director, Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora.

The officials stated that lack of functional vehicles, inadequate members of staff and conflicts with sister-agencies had been a major constraint in their areas of operations.

The Area Manager, Onitsha Area Office, Mrs. Uchi Amadi, said the office in its bid to boost and diversify her revenue base, is reaching out to the public, private partnership to develop and industrialise her floodable plains right of way and utilisation of Island along the waterways for recreation, agriculture and cattle ranching.

She, however, said their major challenges in the area office were from sister-agencies like Ministry of Solid Minerals Development over jurisdiction and the effort of the Authority at recovering some NIWA property illegally occupied or annexed.

Area Manager, Onitsha River Port complex, Mr. Baba Spencer, said since the inception of the River Port, their mode of operations were strictly port-related activities such as the use of port facilities given as slipway, use of the port waterfront and occasional berthing of crafts.

In his reaction to all their requests, Mamora said the Authority would look into their requests based on merit and availability of funds so as to meet their official obligations.

He, therefore, urged all members of staff to re-dedicate themselves at their place of work and that NIWA would continue to support them.

In another development, PowerChina International Group Limited Consortium (the Bolloré- PowerChina Consortium) has emerged the preferred bidder for the Ibom Deep Seaport Project (IDSP).

A statement yesterday by Chairperson of Technical Committee, IDSP, Mfon Ekong Usoro, said the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi had approved the IDSP project to proceed to the next stage of the Public Private Partnership (PPP) procurement, which is negotiation with the preferred bidder with the view to working out the investment and concession details.

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