Vice President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday in Abuja raised hope of a revamp of at least three of the seaports in the Eastern part of the country. He however hinted that the Federal Government is looking in the direction of the private sector to actualize the revamp.
He gave this hint after inspecting exhibition stands mounted by the Nigeria-American Chamber of Commerce, Kaduna State in partnership with the Economic Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy in Abuja.
He was reacting to the moribund status of Calabar, Port Harcourt and Warri Ports. Of the four ports in the eastern flank, only Onne port in Rivers state is vibrant.
Over time importers prefer to ship their consignments through Lagos ports, even though the imports could have been destined for the Eastern ports.
According to the Vice President, the country needs more seaports but their development will be driven by the private sector.
He said: “We simply need to develop more ports but for us it has to be private sector-led. A lot of these initiatives have been private sector-led.
“I have been talking to several of the business communities in those areas.
“Many people are talking about Eastern Ports and I think they are important.
“We have also seen a lot of indication in the private sector that they are prepared to invest in some of these ports.
“So, the business of government is just to enable these things to happen and we are prepared to do that.’’
On how the Executive Orders would aid trade facilitation in the country, he stated that :“One of the very important things is the whole business of pre-investment approvals.’’
He expressed gratitude that such government agencies as NAFDAC, SON and BOI were being proactive in their approvals.
`I think they are a lot more proactive and I think that they are also working a lot more on the time it takes to get these approvals.
“That is really one of the most important things about the executive orders,’’ he said.
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