Getting an investor to revamp the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) jetty in Calabar, Cross River State, when it collapsed in 2010 was taxing.
Many thought getting a company with the capacity and technical know-how to handle a repair of that magnitude to take interest in the project seemed far-fetched.
Hence, it was surprising when an indigenous company, Lilywhite Nigeria Limited, came on board to finance and reconstruct the collapsed jetty.
The Federal Ministry of Transport adopted a public-private-participation (PPP) arrangement in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of build, operate and transfer which gave Lilywhite Nigeria Limited the opportunity to become the concessionaire of the platform.
Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mr. Ogbonna Martins, said the jetty has become a major lifeline to the economy of the state, the country and other countries on the West African Coast.
He also commended President Muhammadu Buhari for giving indigenous companies the opportunity to render professional services, as it will bring holistic and unprecedented growth as well as development to the country’s economy.
According to Martins, it was a miracle of sorts to many because no one believed that an indigenous company had the capacity to carry out a project of such magnitude.
He said the mainstay of the jetty, regulated by National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), is purely export of made-in-Nigeria products.
He revealed that Lilywhite Nigeria Limited is a maritime transport service company well vested in the business of conveying people and goods from neighbouring African countries including Cameroun, Sao Tome and Principe, Equatorial Guinea; Gabon and so on to other places.
Martins said operations at the jetty, which currently provides jobs for about 2, 000 Nigerians who are mainly from the Niger Delta region and Cross River State in particular, has, in no small way, contributed to the economic development of the country.
According to the CEO, with the platform, a lot of people have jobs and violence in the area has reduced drastically because a lot of young people who could have been restive are now engaged doing something meaningful with their time and lives.
“This is my greatest joy. I am happy when I see people, especially the youth, engage themselves by doing something meaningful with their time because I know what growing up was like for me and I have not forgotten how tough it was. So, I take delight in ensuring that I encourage these young people to be useful to themselves and the society.
“The made-in-Nigeria products such as plastic materials ranging from tanks, buckets and many others that are shipped through that platform on a weekly basis is worth several millions of Naira and is boosting our economy, especially now that the country needs to do more export than import,” he said.
Martins said the Nigeria plastic industry worth billions of Naira and still growing, will only expand faster when the products are exported.
“Lillywhite has been making this possible over time and this has brought a lot direct foreign investment as other investors now come to Nigeria to establish such companies because of the viability of the market.
“As the only indigenous maritime service company that covers the West African coast line, we want to ensure that made-in-Nigeria goods are exported to other countries. But our major goal is to promote made-in-Nigeria products by making sure they get to these places. By so doing, jobs will be created for the teeming unemployed youths across the region and beyond.
