Dredging Of River Niger Is Hindered By Flooding – Expert

Rector of Certified Institute of Shipping, Dr. Alex Okwuashi, has said that  ongoing dredging of the River Niger was being hampered by the flooding which occurred in 2012.
Okwuashi told reporters in Lagos last week that the dredging of the River Niger to facilitate movement of goods and passengers to Onitsha Port had been affected by the flooding.
“A lot of areas have become impassable now and the river depth has been affected due to sedimentation.

Rector of Certified Institute of Shipping, Dr. Alex Okwuashi, has said that  ongoing dredging of the River Niger was being hampered by the flooding which occurred in 2012.
Okwuashi told reporters in Lagos last week that the dredging of the River Niger to facilitate movement of goods and passengers to Onitsha Port had been affected by the flooding.
“A lot of areas have become impassable now and the river depth has been affected due to sedimentation.
“It is one of the reasons the Onitsha Port will not be patronised if nothing is done about the River Niger, ” he said.
The rector said that there was the belief by communities along the River Niger that dredging of the River Niger would result in disaster.
He said that these communities needed to be educated so that they would realise that the dredging would be for development.
According to Okwuashi, the Federal Government needs to do a lot of enlightenment campaign in Onitsha.
He said that port users in that area were not aware of the availability of the port for use.
“The Onitsha Port has to be advertised to the port users. They need to be told about the port characteristics and the kind of cargoes it can accommodate.
“With sufficient publicity and awareness, there will be increased patronageat the port,” he said.
Okwuashi said that the users must be assured of friendly government policies to make the port more attractive.
He said that some of the policies included a good tariff regime and security of lives and property.
The rector said that government agencies at the ports should have good attitude and the  mindset to do good and honest jobs rather than extorting money.
“The way to get the best out of the Onitsha port is a collaboration of all stakeholders such as importers, exporters, and other port users to support the infrastructure coming into their domain.
 “The port access roads should also be durable to meet up the standard of usage when the port becomes active,’’ Okwuashi said.
He urged all stakeholders to also prepare for increased competition at the port “once it becomes fully operational after concession’’.
The rector advised that government should give the port to one of the existing concessionaire at the seaports and not to new business men.