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Tag: Amaechi

  • Govt needs $16b for Warri, Bonny deep seaports, others, says Amaechi

    Govt needs $16b for Warri, Bonny deep seaports, others, says Amaechi

    The Federal Government needs $16 billion to build deep seaports in Warri, Delta State and Bonny in Rivers State, Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi, said yesterday.

    He also hinted that more coaches and locomotives to boost rail transportation across the country would be brought it between now and December.

    Amaechi spoke with State House reporters after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari.

    He said President Buhari was pleased with the progress in the transport sector.

    He said:  “He is also very pleased with what we have done in terms of the narrow gauge. Between now and December, we are bringing in more locomotives, coaches and wagons, to ensure efficiency in the narrow gauge. We are expecting 10 for Kaduna-Abuja axis and another seven, which will hopefully go to Itakpe-Warii because we believe that by June, that axis should also come alive.”

    The minister also spoke about the plans to dredge the Calabar seaport through Public Private Partnership (PPP).

    He stated that the problem of gridlock on the road leading to Apapa port in Lagos would be over by December.

    “In terms of the narrow gauge, if not for a hitch, we would have commenced trucking cargo form Apapa seaport to Ebute-Metta-Lagos and takeaway the challenges we are having with that Apapa grid and bad road. That will happen before December.

    “You are aware that we have gotten approval for the eastern flank of the Nigerian Railway modernisation which has to do with from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri cutting across Aba, Owerri, Enugu, Umuahia to Makurdi, to Abakiliki, and to Awka, Lafia down to Bauchi, Gombe, Yola and to Damaturu and ends at Borno.

    “And also the other railway from Kano to Maradi in Niger Republic I need to brief the President about how we are progressing with negotiations of loans and others and our possible financiers.

    “I also need to brief him about the current activities going on in the Lagos/Ibadan axis and what we intend to do to complete the Lagos/Kano railway. It is basically about my office.

    On when the government will commence work on the new approval for the eastern railway, he said “There are approvals but we have to look for the money, the money is just not there. It is not easy, it is a total of about $16 billon and you don’t pluck $16 billion from the sky.

    Whether it will be done through PPP arrangement, he said “That is the first line of action, we will try and see if we can work on PPP particularly as it patterns to the seaport. Don’t forget that two deep seaports have been approved; Bonny seaport and the Warri seaport. The Port Harcourt Railway Industrial Park will, we should also be able to implement that through PPP. l hope we can but l doubt if it will be easy to get railway as PPP because it is quite expensive.

    On the Calabar port dredging project, he said “NPA is on it. They have advertised. They prefer to do it in a PPP arrangement basically to see how we can dredge the Calabar port

    Asked to speak on the President’s vision for the railway transportation, he said “That is why I was summoned. Don’t forget that the President sleeps and wakes up thinking about railway and if his BP will not rise, I must see him and tell him how far we have progressed. Once he hears that progress is being made he feels a bit happy.”

  • Wike tackles Buhari, Amaechi, Mohammed

    Wike tackles Buhari, Amaechi, Mohammed

    Rivers State Governor  Nyesom Wike yesterday tackled President Muhammadu Buhari, Transportation Minister Rotimi Amaechi and Minister of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

      He accused the Federal Government of poor governance, nepotism, marginalisation and state-sponsored repression.

    The governor alleged that impunity, political intimidation, economic sabotage, state repression, election rigging and abuse of power were wrongs, not only against Rivers, but wrongs against the country.

    Wike spoke yesterday at Hotel Presidential, Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, while opening the 13th All Nigeria Editors’ Conference (ANEC) and Extraordinary Convention of the Nigeria Guild of Editors (NGE), with the theme: “Nigerian Media: Balancing Professionalism, Advocacy and Business.”

    The conference, which ought to have been hosted by Bauchi State, was chaired by Alhaji Ismaila Isa Funtua and had in attendance a former Governor of Ogun State, Aremo Olusegun Osoba; Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of The Nation, Mr. Victor Ifijeh; and a former Acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mrs. Ibim Semenitari; while the keynote speaker was Mr. Azubuike Ishiekwene.

    Rivers governor said: “We do believe that these recurrent acts of impunity, political intimidation, economic sabotage, state repression, election rigging and abuse of power are wrongs not only against Rivers State, they are wrongs against the country.

    “We are only pretending we think that all is well with our country. The country is in crisis, as poor governance, nepotism, marginalisation and state-sponsored repression continue to do violence to the nation’s unity and cohesion.

    “At a time as this, the country needs forthright leadership and consensus building to steer the ship of state from the wrong direction it is headed, to safer grounds.

    “Nigerians of goodwill must therefore call the minister of Information to stop stoking the embers of disharmony and divisions in the polity with his irresponsible utterances and wild allegations against members of opposition political parties.

    “Today, the clamour for political restructuring, fiscal federalism, state police and guarantee for free and fair elections have never been this determined across the country and will never go away. It is becoming clearer by the day that to ignore these calls is pretentiously dangerous to the unity and the peaceful co-existence of this country.

    “History teaches us that freedom will never prevail unless those who long for it are willing and ready to insist upon its value and have the courage to speak out against what they know is wrong.”

    Chairman of the occasion, in his remarks, noted that the Rivers governor did something that had not been done in the history of NGE, by hosting the conference back-to-back, stating that making the media one’s friend will not mean that the public office holders and others will not be criticised or condemned when they performed below expectations or messed up.

    Funtua stated that many journalists, like civil servants, had not been paid for many months, because the money is not there, while calling for financial independence of the media, in order to earn the respect of society, noting that Osoba did a lot to keep the media together.

    The NPAN president, while also speaking, stated that as long as online and social media were dominated by fake news, the traditional media will continue to thrive.

    President of NUJ declared that journalists should be able to carve a niche for themselves and stop being beggarly, to be respected.

    Chairman of Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, in his goodwill message, assured NGE of continuous support of the National Assembly, especially the Senate.

    Bayelsa Information commissioner insisted that Nigeria’s unity was negotiable and called for restructuring, to move forward, while believing in one Nigeria.

    NAWOJ president urged National Assembly to legislate on media salary and to take the issue seriously, while adding that there is need for peaceful co-existence in Nigeria.

    The keynote speaker declared that NGE members must first get honest and ethical journalism right, before they can balance professionalism, advocacy and business, while maintaining that journalists, especially editors, must free themselves from politicians.

    In her welcome address, Egbemode said: “The Editor in Nigeria gives his heart and soul for years. He works impossible hours and labours under the yoke of deadlines for poor remuneration. Then he wakes up one day and he is out of a job. He has no saving. He is not equipped for anything else outside the newsroom. He is stranded and abandoned by the job he gave everything to. That is why being a veteran journalist is not a title of honour. It is a euphemism for being broke and poor.

    “Ours is a besieged and beleaguered industry. Both the profession and the professionals are not in a good place right now. The recession may be receding in other sectors, but in the media, hardly so. Indeed, our recession predates the nationally recognised one. We have been in a bad place for a long time and right now, we all can feel the ground shift under our shaking legs. We take care of everybody else’s interest. We watch out for everybody and we have always done that for years.

    “This year, it is all about us, our profession, our fate and our economy, as we navigate the testy thirsty waters that threaten to sweep us into a fast-moving current. This ANEC is for us to assess where we are and find a way to safety. “

    The president of NGE also expressed gratitude to Wike and Rivers, for not just hosting the conference back-to-back, but also because the governor accepted to do so with less than six weeks notice.

  • Buhari didn’t know rail line would pass through Daura – Amaechi

    Buhari didn’t know rail line would pass through Daura – Amaechi

    The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, said on Monday President Muhammadu Buhari was not aware that rail line was going to pass through his home town in Daura, Katsina State.

    The minister said President Buhari approved rail lines from Kano to Daura and Jibia local government areas of Katsina.

    He, however, clarified that Buhari was initially unaware of the linkage.

    He added that the President has directed that Kebbi, Zamfara and Sokoto be linked by rail.

    He said: “The President summoned myself and the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, that we should go ahead with infrastructural development and he specifically told me that I must connect the 36 states capital by rail. It is a huge assignment. Huge in the sense that it is very expensive to connect.

    “By the directive of the President, We are currently designing a railway that would connect Gusau, Sokoto and Kebbi.

    “Transporting people from Benin Republic to Apapa seaport is not easy and to connect them from Benin Republic to Madakali; a border town in Kebbi, you need to pass through Daura and Jibia local government area.

    “The President did not know that there is going to be rail that would pass through Daura. When I saw it on social media that the President has approved a rail project to his village and that Jonathan never did, I was surprised because that was not true.

    “In fact, the railway to Yenagoa would have gone to Port Harcourt without passing through Otuoke but President Jonathan took it first to Otuoke, linked it to Yenagoa before connecting it to Port Harcourt.

    “I must also ask, what is wrong with that because Otuoke or Daura is also part of Nigeria, I don’t see anything wrong with that.”

    The Managing Director of Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC), Fidet Okhiria, said the designs were done before Buhari became President.

    He said: “Those designs were in place before the President took over. The President is only trying to implement it and make it work. So, it is a feasibility study that has been in place.”

     

  • FG to introduce bicycle riding in FCT

    FG to introduce bicycle riding in FCT

    The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, said on Monday the Federal Government plans to introduce bicycle riding in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    The project is expected to aid physical fitness and boost investment in the country.

    He also said the Lagos-Ibadan rail project would lead to employment of 150,000 people.

    Rotimi disclosed these at the end of the 15th meeting of National Council on Transportation with the theme: ‘Efficiency of Inter-modality in Transportation: Panacea for Economic Recovery.”

    He said: “The National Council on Transportation is a policy making Council and we have approved that we should do a pilot project on bicycle riding in FCT because it is the only city that has facility for bicycle riding.

    “We decided that we do it in Abuja because if you check, nearly all the roads in Abuja have lanes for bicycle.”

    “It is there in China and UK. It is an investment that would help reduce the number of passengers that are looking for modern form of transportation within the cities.

    “Other states that want to do it must provide facility before they can proceed because we want to separate cyclists from the roads and some motorists can be very impatient with them.

    “So states that want to go ahead can do that. But they must provide lanes for bicycle so that we don’t have numerous accidents.”

    On the Lagos-Ibadan rail project, the minister added: “Construction work on the railway would really boost economy. Between Lagos to Ibadan, the railway work, going on there would produce jobs for about 150,000 workers and the business would help employ more people.”

  • Amaechi: power must rotate in Rivers in 2019

    Minister of Transportation Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi has stated that there will be power rotation in Rivers State in 2019.

    Amaechi spoke in a function in Port Harcourt, the state capital, to receive defecting members of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Represented by senator-elect Andrew Uchendu,  Amaechi said:  “I have been crucified, misunderstood and accused of being disrespectful and blunt but I sincerely stand on it; power must rotate in this state.

    “I am an Ikwerre man, we held power for eight years and, by default another Ikwerre man is in the Government House. It is important that in a multi-ethnic and plural state as Rivers, power must be seen to rotate to maintain equity and fairness. This is why people want to crucify me,” he said.

    He added: “No man is an island of knowledge, we must make him learn from good Nigerians, emulate other people and bring the dividend of democracy to the state.”

  • FG calls for intermodal transportation

    FG calls for intermodal transportation

    The Federal Government on Monday called for intermodal transportation.

    The federal government said intermodal transportation would reduce congestion at the ports, create jobs and significantly reduce the cost of transportation.

    It also said the mode would increase the influx of people and trucks to port cities.

    The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, disclosed these at the opening ceremony of 15th National Council on Transportation in Sokoto.

    The minister also said that plans were underway to connect all the seaports, airports and all the Inland Container Depots by rail.

    Amaechi, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Sabiu Zakari said: “The development of intermodal transportation would reduce the cost of transportation, the influx of people and trucks to port cities thereby reducing congestion at the ports.

    “It would also create jobs by the optimal utilization of the various modes, develop modern transport infrastructure as the need arises and extend the life of the already existing ones”

    He added that the mode reduces over reliance on a single mode, as it is the case with road system in Nigeria.

    Also speaking, the Deputy Governor of Sokoto State, Ahmed Aliyu, called for the extension of railway lines from Kaura Namoda in Zamfara State to Sokoto.

    Aliyu, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Alhaji Bello Abubakar, urged the federal government to establish Inland Dry Port in Illela local government area of the state due to commercial activities in the area.

  • Amaechi: Wike has no evidence against me

    Amaechi: Wike has no evidence against me

    Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi has insisted that Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has no evidence to prove his allegations of corruption against him.

    He maintained that he ran a transparent administration, devoid of spurious acts and practices, which his successor (Wike) has been attributing to him.

    Amaechi, a former chair of Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), in a statement yesterday by his Media Office, declared that his former chief of staff and director-general of Amaechi Re-election Campaign Organisation in 2011, was forging and concocting documents to defame, disparage and vilify him, in his desperate and failed bid to portray him as corrupt.

    The Rivers governor, while addressing the Council of Traditional Rulers in Port Harcourt on Monday,  claimed he had evidence of Amaechi’s corrupt acts as governor.

    Amaechi said: “Wike has nothing, we mean absolutely nothing concrete to prove his fabricated claims. However, we are aware, as a matter of fact, it is now public knowledge that Wike has been forging and distorting a cache of documents in his increasingly frantic efforts to denigrate Amaechi. This forgery and contortion commenced immediately Wike assumed office as governor and it is ongoing.

    “Nigerians were shocked a few days back when Livingstone Wechie, the young man Wike used to accuse Amaechi of corruption and write false and frivolous petitions to the National Assembly, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) etc., confessed freely and openly, that all the documents he used to wrongfully portray Amaechi as corrupt when he governed Rivers State, were phony, forged documents given to him by Wike’s Rivers State Government House.”

    “It is ludicrous and appalling that Wike is still talking about his credibility-bereft Commission of Enquiry, when Livingstone Wechie also admitted that the forged documents were what were used as the template, the basis for the Justice Omereji-led Judicial Commission of Enquiry, an inquisition panel Wike set up early in his administration to witch-hunt, malign and persecute Amaechi.

    “Nigerians are now accustomed to Wike’s shameful charade whenever he says he has ‘evidence’ against Amaechi. How can we forget in a hurry when Wike outrageously claimed he had evidence to prove Amaechi’s ownership of the $43 million Ikoyi money and luxury apartment? In spite of all the noise Wike made, all his over-the-top political dramatisation of Amaechi ownership of the Ikoyi money, Wike could not even go to court to claim the money with his so-called evidence. Wike has suddenly gone deaf and dumb on the Ikoyi money, many months after his seven-day ultimatum for the Federal Government to give him the money or face the mother of all legal actions.

    “How can anyone take a character like Wike seriously, especially when he says he has evidence against Amaechi? How can a governor talk so recklessly and irresponsibly?”

    The Transportation minister also stated that he will continue to remind Rivers people that his former aide’s (Wike’s) antics were a clear attempt to distract and divert attention from his mindless plundering of the resources of the state and spate of his (Wike’s) induced insecurity in Rivers.

    He said: “Wike must realise that every lie has an expiry date. Rivers people are tired and sick of Wike’s fake stories of ‘Amaechi this, Amaechi that’, every day.

    “Rather, the people (of Rivers State) want to know what happened to all the billions of naira Wike has collected from the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC), Paris Club refund, internally-generated revenue and the funds he borrowed.”

  • Wike boasts of influence on Supreme Court, says Amaechi

    Wike boasts of influence on Supreme Court, says Amaechi

    Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi has accused his successor Nyesom Wike of boasting that he has influence on the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, and the judiciary.

    He stated that Wike continued to forge more documents against him

    Amaechi yesterday in an online statement by his media office said Wike wanted to use the forged documents to persecute and prosecute him in court.

    Wike is Amaechi’s former Chief of Staff and the director-general of his re-election campaign organisation in 2011.

    The minister said: “In the past couple of days, Wike has been telling anyone who cares to listen, bragging that he will certainly get a conviction, a judgment against Amaechi in the law courts on spurious charges of corruption, using his forged documents because he (Wike) is in control of the judiciary at the state and national levels.

    “For the avoidance of doubt, we wish to state that Wike has been boasting that he has the judges in the Rivers State judiciary in his pocket, that he is in full control and that the Rivers State judiciary would always give him any judgment he wants against Amaechi.

    “Furthermore, Wike is bragging that the CJN is his ‘main man’ that would readily and easily assist him get any judgment he wants against Amaechi at the apex court, using his contorted documents.

    “Wike is also telling anyone who cares to listen that the Supreme Court (Justices) and judges generally are not happy with Amaechi and so they would easily convict him with any forged document he presents in court. Power-drunk Wike is using the recent visit of the CJN to Rivers State as his bragging right to prove his ‘extreme’ closeness to the CJN.

    “Nigerians would recall that only a few days back, Livingstone Wechie, the young man Wike used to accuse Amaechi of corruption and write false and frivolous petitions to the National Assembly, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) etc., confessed in a live television programme and in a statement he also circulated to the media, that all the documents he used to wrongfully portray Amaechi as corrupt when he governed Rivers State, were phonies, forged documents given to him by Wike’s Rivers State Government House.

    “Wechie also admitted, like we have always said, that the forged documents were used as the template and basis for the Justice Omereji-led Judicial Commission of Inquiry, a panel Wike set up early in his administration to witch-hunt, malign, vilify and persecute Amaechi.”

    The transportation minister also stated that sadly, Wike was presiding over the affairs of Rivers people.

    He accused Wike’s administration of embarking on wholesale forgery and distortion of government documents and would then retail it out to his minions, the media and the judiciary in a bid to defame and destroy Amaechi.

     

     

    ‘His blackmail of judiciary will fail’

    Rivers State Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike yesterday described the statement credited to Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi as a figment of his imagination.

    Wike said the statement issued by Amaechi  was part of a campaign of calumny launched by the former governor, following  the foundation stone  laid by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Walter Onoghen for the construction of the Judges Quarters.

    “The former governor sponsored advertorials and electronic adverts through proxies to stop the laudable project without success, hence the resort to falsehood and character assassination,” the Special Assistant to the Rivers State Governor (Electronic Media) Simeon Nwakaudu said yesterday in a reaction.

    The statement reads: “We are not surprised by Amaechi’s antics to blackmail the judiciary.  Ever since the Supreme Court Victory  that validated the election of Governor Wike, Amaechi has never failed to malign the judiciary.

    “Governor Wike is a law-abiding citizen, who believes in the  rule of law. That is why he has followed due process in tackling  the issues of high level corruption against  the Minister of Transportation.

    “The Rivers State Governor in line with the extant  laws of Rivers State set up a Judicial Commission of Inquiry that investigated the Sale of Valued Assets of the state by the Amaechi administration.  The constitution of that panel was challenged  by the former governor at the State High Court and Court of Appeal.  Both courts upheld  the establishment  of that panel.  The former governor has since approached the Supreme Court  on appeal. Rather than await the verdict of the apex court, in his  usual manner, has resorted to political blackmail and falsehood. As usual, this will fail.

    “It is imperative  to declare that the Judicial Commission of Inquiry  that investigated the Sale of Valued Assets of the State sat in the public. All the documents about the fraud of that  administration  were circulated  in the public domain with journalists  writing about the activities of the commission, publishing  tendered documents.  Nothing  was hidden from the people of the state.

    “The Commission of Inquiry into the sale of Valued State Assets and other related matters headed by  Justice George Omereji received 442 exhibits,  27 memoranda while 25 witnesses testified before it.

    “The commission indicted  the former governor and confirmed  that N53 billion was diverted by Amaechi and his officials…

    “We have very credible documents to prove the mass corrupt acts of the Minister of Transportation against the good people of Rivers State.”

    The statement added: “Amaechi  is being haunted by his ugly past. He locked up the courts for two years, forgetting  that he was a beneficiary  of the courage of the judiciary.

    “Amaechi  should respect the judiciary as a courageous  arm of government  that works in line with the tenets of the  law.

    “Without  equivocation, Governor Wike  stands by  his declaration  on the Rivers funds found at the notorious Ikoyi residence.  Nothing has changed.

    “Governor Wike  will not be distracted by this reckless and unfortunate blackmail of the judiciary  by Amaechi.  At the appropriate time, the immediate past Rivers State governor will be brought to justice. He is assured of fair trial.”

  • Wike to renovate schools in Amaechi’s town, says Rivers PDP

    Wike to renovate schools in Amaechi’s town, says Rivers PDP

    The Rivers State chapter of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday promised that the administration of Governor Nyesom Wike would empower the  party’s supporters in Ubima community and renovate dilapidated schools.

    Ubima is a community in Ikwerre Local Government Area. It is the home town of Sir Celestine Omehia and Transportation Minister Rotimi Amaechi.

    Speaking after accepting some All Progressives Congress (APC) members into PDP, State Publicity Secretary  Samuel Nwanosike said Wike has plans for the community.

    Nwanosike, who was with top PDP members, said “there are so many evidence of what the government has done in empowerment”.

    He added that more people will benefit from the government, noting that Ubima will not left out.

    “By this time next year, the school you are talking about will be completed by the grace of God, some of you have benefited one way or the other, but many of you will benefit from this government. Our umbrella is wide enough to accommodate everybody.

    “The people of this community can now sleep with their eyes closed because Governor Nyesom Wike has invested heavily on security. The governor will not forget you, I am happy that this kind of crowd is welcoming us here, it is a sign this local government belongs to PDP.”

    Responding on behalf of the community, Chief Franklin Orlu, and Chief Jude Nwoka thanked the PDP officials for visiting the community.

    They pleaded with the Wike-led administration to always consider them in employment,  appointment  and other empowerment programmes.

    The community also requested for the completion of dilapidated schools in the area and the revamping of Port Harcourt international Airport Hotel in the area, which they believe will employ more of their youths if it is functional.

  • Govt to concession Onitsha port this year, says Amaechi

    Govt to concession Onitsha port this year, says Amaechi

    The Federal Government, yesterday, promised to complete the process of concessioning the Onitsha Port in Anambra State before the end of the year.

    Speaking at the 2017 International Conference and Exhibition organised by the National Inland Waterways Authority ( NIWA), in Lagos,   Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi said the government has recorded tremendous progress on the concessioning of the port and urged  local and foreign investors to invest in inland ports and jetties to facilitate movement of goods and persons  across the country.

    The theme of the event is: ‘Improving Navigation and Inland Ports Development for sustainable Investment on Nigerian Waterways’.

    Amaechi spoke of immense investment opportunities in the nation’s inland waterways.

    The network of rivers, creeks, lagoons and lakes,  the former governor of Rivers state said, are great resources that needed to be utilised maximally by the private sector.

    Amaechi said  budgetary appropriations have been made to ensure the completion of the Baro, Lokoja and Oguta River ports within the lifespan of the President Buhari administration.

    He said: “I am happy to announce that NIWA, especially under its new leadership, has been able to look inward and through their in-house engineers, have commenced the maintenance dredging of te Ajaokuta to Onitsha channels of River Niger; and this will save the country huge sums of money.

    “I implore NIWA to procure bigger dredgers that have bigger capacity to perform better than they are doing presently.

    “Another area that should earn our commendations on the activities of NIWA is the progress recorded over the amendment of the NIWA Bill at the National Assembly. The bill has gone through third reading at the Senate and it is hoped that the House of Representatives will also support and endorse the new bill, which in essence will enhance the capacity of NIWA to enforce her rules and regulations, resolve the present crisis with her sister parastatals and other government agencies, and boost the revenue profile of the Authority in order to make it self-sustaining.

    “In the industry today, NIWA is also unveiling the Aquatic Wed Harvester (FX-IIB) and the Vegetative Cutter (AVC)-Swamp Devils I, II, and III which will go a long way in clearing water hyacinth on our waterways and enhance navigation especially in the Southern part of the country,” Amaechi said.

    NIWA Managing Director  Boss Mustapha said the event was organised to promote the use of inland waterways transportation as a competitive alternative mode of transport in Nigeria.

    The forum, he said, would enable the stakeholders to understand government policies in the sector.

    He said there was need for free navigation on the waterways and development inland ports for cargo handling and passenger operations to create connectivity for multimodal transport linkages: Road, rail, waterways and sea transport.

    “Another focus of this conference is to encourage the government and stakeholders to strengthen the desired machinery towards deriving the benefits of investment in coastal  and inland shipping operations on the Nigerian waterways.

    “To achieve this development goal, NIWA  has commissioned an in-house project team to embark on a continuous dredging of the entire waterways in Nigeria, which was flagged-off by the Minister of Transportation with an overwhelming support of  the Governor of Kogi State .

    “We are also scheduled to complete the construction and I stall action of cargo handling equipment at the Baro port, Lokoja port, Oguta port and a number of jetties and landing platforms in many communities along the waterways this year.”

    NIWA, he said, is also restructuring to create functional department and business units that will specifically handle the potential Public-private -partnership agreement on concession and leases.

    “One of the focus of this conference is to encourage government and stakeholders to strengthen the desired machinery towards  deriving the benefits of investments in Coastal and Inland Shipping Operations on the Nigerian waterways.

    “To achieve this developmental goal, NIWA has commissioned an in-house project team to embark on a continuous dredging of the entire waterways in Nigeria, which was flagged off by the Honourable Minister of Transportation with an overwhelming support of His Excellency, the Governor of Kogi State on the 28th of April, 2017 at the Ajaokuta jetty. This is aimed at sweeping silts and deepening the waterways for smooth navigation.

    “The Onitsha port that is fully equipped and was commissioned in January 2013 has now received Ministerial approval for the advert for Expression of Interest (EoI) to be published.

    “We are also scheduled to complete the construction and installation of cargo handling equipment at the Baro port, Lokoja port, Oguta port and a number of jetties and landing platforms in many communities along the waterways this year,” Mustapha said.