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Tag: Baro Port

  • Reps committee seeks media support to revitalise Baro Port

    Reps committee seeks media support to revitalise Baro Port

    •Lawmakers visit The Nation office in Abuja

    The Chairman of the House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee on the Rehabilitation and Operationalisation of the Baro Inland Port in Agale Local Government Area of Niger State, Saidu Abdullahi, has called for stronger collaboration among stakeholders to revive the century-old port.

    The lawmaker described the port as a strategic asset for Nigeria’s economic growth.

    Abdullahi said this yesterday during a courtesy visit to the Abuja Bureau office of The Nation Newspapers.

    The lawmaker said the committee was mandated to convene stakeholder engagements to identify the challenges hindering the port’s full operationalisation and to develop sustainable solutions.

    “Baro Inland Port is about the oldest inland port in the country, discovered by the colonial masters as far back as 1908. It was actively used during the colonial era to move agricultural produce from the North to the coastal areas and beyond. In return, goods were transported back up North through the same route.

    “Unfortunately, with the discovery of oil, the government shifted attention away from waterways and rail transport, leaving our roads overburdened and in deplorable condition,” he said.

    Abdullahi decried the poor state of federal roads, saying in Niger State alone, more than 2,000 out of 2,400 kilometres of federal roads were in terrible condition.

    The lawmaker said this underscored the urgent need for viable alternatives such as waterways transportation.

    According to him, the ad hoc committee has held engagements with the Ministries of Works, Transportation, and Blue Economy, as well as the Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), and other agencies.

    The lawmaker noted that the lack of synergy among stakeholders had stalled the port’s development, but stressed that efforts were being made to foster cohesion.

    The committee, he said, had also conducted an on-the-spot assessment of the port facilities in the company of representatives of the ministries and agencies involved.

    Abdullahi drew inspiration from international models, citing the Mississippi River Port in the United States, which connects 31 states, and China’s massive investments in inland waterways.

    The committee chairman argued that Nigeria, with its vast agricultural potential, must follow suit to reap the benefits of cheaper, more environmentally-friendly, and efficient logistics.

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    “For a country with our huge potential, especially in agriculture, it is a matter of necessity to pay attention to the logistics and infrastructure that will unlock this potential. The Baro Inland Port remains viable and can still be revived to serve the economic needs of the country,” he said.

    Abdullahi explained that the committee was not presuming to have all the answers but was committed to working with all stakeholders, including the media, to galvanise support for the port’s rehabilitation.

    He added: “It is not for nothing that the media is called the Fourth Estate of the Realm. We have come here to seek a partnership so that you can add value and voice to what we aim to achieve.

    “We appreciate you. Of course, your people (The Nation reporters) in the National Assembly have been doing wonderfully well in terms of carrying out our message across the country. But we need more of your presence.

    “You know better how to help us propagate this very important assignment. And once we get to the level of stakeholder engagement, of course, we’ll write to you to officially invite you to be part of that engagement.

    “We believe that what we have set out to achieve will serve us, will come up with a framework that will serve as a guide to the executive in terms of taking on major infrastructure in this country.”

    The Nation’s Abuja Bureau Chief, Onyedi Ojiabor, stressed the importance of the port to boosting economic activities and reducing unemployment in the country.

    He promised the support of the newspaper to the committee, saying The Nation ensures its reportage contributes to the growth and development of the country.

    Other members of The Nation team in the nation’s capital at the meeting included Blessing Olaifa, Tony Akowe, Sanni Onogu, and Nicholas Kalu.

  • Reps committee decries shoddy work at Baro Port

    Reps committee decries shoddy work at Baro Port

    The House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee on the Rehabilitation and Operationalisation of Baro Inland Port, has decried the quality of work done at the facility.

    Rep. Idris Wase (APC-Plateau) expressed the displeasure of the lawmakers at a courtesy viist on  Governor Umaru Bago of Niger after an overnight visit to  Baro Inland Port in the state.

    Wase said that the port project was only “commissioned on paper” by former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019 in spite of the huge investments.

    “What we saw is a project that was merely commissioned on paper. It is unfortunate what has happened in the past, but as leaders we must take responsibility to change the narrative,” he said.

    The lawmaker described port as a “gateway to Nigeria’s economy, saying that the neglect of the facility represented a wider national problem of infrastructure deficit.

    He assured that the committee is determined to revive the port and to ensure its completion for equitable distribution of infrastructure across the country.

    Idris said the committee will work with the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), and other relevant stakeholders to address outstanding challenges, including dredging and navigation corridors needed to make the port operational.

    The Chairman of the committee, Rep. Saidu Abdullahi expressed deep concern over the deplorable state of roads leading to the multi-billion-naira project, describing it as a major impediment to the port’s functionality.

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    The lawmaker said that in spite of the enormous potential of port to boost trade, create jobs, and open up the economy, the absence of motorable access roads has left the facility largely idle years after its commissioning.

    He said that a trip that should ordinarily take half an hour now stretches into four gruelling hours because of the failed portions of the road.

    “We are committed to ensuring that this port does not remain a white elephant project. Our work here is to make sure that all the issues are laid bare.

    “Government agencies responsible for roads, inland waterways, and transport rise to the challenge. We cannot afford to abandon such a strategic project,” he said.

    The General Manager of Business Development at the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) Mr Bolawale Adetola, expressed optimism that the port will soon become operational, provided critical challenges such as access roads and dredging are addressed.

    He said the involvement of the National Assembly would help mobilise the needed funds, either through direct appropriation or private partnerships, to make the port fully functional.

    “Everything that a port needs to work is on ground. The key challenges are the access road and the silted channel, which requires dredging. That is our own part in NIWA.

    “Other stakeholders, including the Federal Ministry of Works and the Nigerian Railway Corporation, are also critical to the process. Once all these are in place, Baro Port will be of immense benefit to Nigerians,” he said.

    Responding, the governor called for the urgent revival of the port, describing it as a national project that held the key to easing the heavy burden on Nigeria’s road infrastructure.

    Bago said the inland port, conceived by Nigeria’s founding fathers was once central to the Northern Africa Trade Corridor.

    According to him, it was strategically linked to the Lagos–Kano–Jibia rail line, which was originally designed to service Baro.

    “Since I became governor, we have been working towards the realisation of the Baro Port project. This is not a Niger project and not even a northern project; it is a Nigerian project,” he said.

    He commended the committee for undertaking the oversight visit during recess, describing their commitment as evidence of a renewed determination to reposition Nigeria.

  • Baro Port

    Baro Port

    • Another example of a Nigerian project prematurely commissioned

    It is inexplicable and inexcusable that the Baro Port in Niger State, commissioned in 2019 by former President Muhammadu Buhari, has remained non-functional ever since, with its multi-billion Naira facilities wasting away. Conceived by the administration of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, the port was designed to reduce the dependence on articulated trucks for transporting goods from the South to the North, thus saving lives from the high rate of road accidents while also lessening pressure on the roads, thereby guaranteeing their longevity. Activities at the port would no doubt have also generated employment and stimulated the economy of the North for greater prosperity at a time the region is in the throes of acute dysfunctional and destabilising poverty.

    The question is, why should the facility have been commissioned in the first place if all the accessories necessary to make it operational had not been completed? For, a report in LEADERSHIP newspaper indicated that the port has remained dormant partly due to the non-availability of an access road and the inability of ships to reach it as a result of shallow water levels. Were those who authorised the commissioning of the project unaware that it could not have been said to be ready for use if inaccessible by road and its water route impassable for vessels? Unfortunately, this is only one of several projects across the country commissioned by governments at different levels, but abandoned because they were essentially uncompleted.

    This results in an unacceptable level of wastage of resources in a country that is struggling to generate the requisite finances to meet its huge developmental challenges. For instance, the Baro Port is reported to have been awarded at a cost of N3.9 billion and completed with about N12 billion. When the cost of dredging six lots of the River Niger up to Baro put at N9 billion per lot is taken into consideration, a total of over N66 billion was expended on the project. With the port lying dormant for about six years since its commissioning, most of the extensive facilities provided for its operation would inevitably have begun to deteriorate and decay, necessitating repair or replacement, thus consuming even more resources.

    Some of the facilities lying idle at the port are thousands of 20-foot containers, a transit shed of 3,600 metres, a cargo stacking yard of 7,000 square metres, a quay length of 150 metres, a water hydrant system, a water treatment plant, a 100 KVA generating set, tree forklifts of diverse capacities as well as several landing sites, warehouse and administrative buildings.

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    To stop further degeneration of these facilities and limiting the cost of resuscitating and putting them in shape for use, we call on the present administration to urgently make the completion and functioning of the port a priority. It is disturbing in this regard that a senator from Niger State was quoted as saying that there were no provisions for the port in this year’s budget. If so, such an inexplicable oversight should be immediately remedied.

    Among the suggestions made to make the port operational are the rehabilitation of the road from Agaie through Katcha to Baro and the rain track from Baro through Gulu to Abuja, as well as the dredging of the River Niger from the Delta to Baro to enable the use of flat-bottomed ships to convey containers from the main ports to Baro Inland Port. The work that remains to be done for the port to come to life is thus extensive and the earlier this is commenced, the better. This is particularly so as the inhabitants of the communities in the area have lost their farmlands and fishing grounds to the construction of the project and the once thriving agriculture and fishing populations reduced to despair and destitution.