At last week’s commissioning of the Lekki Deep Seaport in Lagos, our Assistant Editor; Oluyinka Onigbinde cornered Mr Adebayo Balogun, who represents Ibeju Lekki Federal Constituency at the House Of Representatives for an exclusive interview. The interaction focused on the nation’s emerging business hub – Ibeju Lekki.
What’s the update regarding the three maritime bills currently before the House?
You know the 9th Assembly has been forthcoming, when it comes to passage of bills and especially the one that are very dear to the country and there is no reason anyone of them will be delayed. You see what happened to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) that have been there 9at the National Assembly) for decades and the Electoral Act that we have been done about two times within this dispensation. So there is no reason any amendment of bill would stay more than the required time. The senate will actually do its own due diligence and we know Mr. President will actually do what he has to do. Even with the commissioning of the Lekki Deep Sea Port, it will also be an impetus to the National Assembly to also do their own part. This is because everyone wants to associate with something good and you know that we are making the bold steps. One thing that happens when it comes to some of these bills is that people of the National Assembly come from different backgrounds and we must do a lot of research and findings. So it is based on the information we have at hand that will determine if what was presented to you is actually the right thing. When people see what is coming up today in Nigeria, this alone will also require some amendment of what we have before. I am sure that within a very short time, all the necessary legislations that will support all these projects, Mr. President will do his diligence and sign it appropriately.
What is your impression of the Lekki Deep Port and how do you think it can impact to the Economy?
I represent this local government. This is my project. I was the Chairman of the Local Government when the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed. So I signed on behalf of the local government to ensure that the necessary rights are given to the local government and the communities. There was a tripartite agreement on the use of the land. The land is supposed to be either on behalf of the Local and State governments and the people; that is the communities. Today, we see that this project is actually coming up bringing in so much investment into this area. The value of properties along this area has gone a thousand fold. A property that will go for N1 million about 10 years ago in this area, will now go for over N100 million. So, that alone have actually added value to our people. There are lots of business opportunities that it has brought. We were formerly an agrarian local government. Most of our people are fishermen and farmers. But today, the trade has changed. That is why we have been encouraging our children to take Science and related courses that will afford them the opportunity to get into the mainstream of the projects that we are having in this area. It has in various ways impacted. Many people who are staying abroad are now willing to relocate back because Ibeju Lekki has now become an economic and industrial hub of Nigeria. It is not just the Lekki Deep Sea Port project alone, but also includes the Dangote Refinery. These are at the foresight of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. It was when he was governor of the state and I was chairman that all these started. And he has also been lucky to have successors who are also going on with the master plan, because it is not about being a leader and rule over your time. You must be able to put plans and ensure that whatever legacy you put into this country will continue. Many other people who were also governors at the same time had many of their projects terminated and truncated. We are very happy that we are making waves in Lagos. Project like the Lekki Deep Sea port were not just jettisoned and we believe we would have even done better in the area of electrification if Asiwaju have been allowed to consider the project. We would have gone through all the tutelage and by now Nigeria would have been better for it. So it is a lesson for every one of us. To build a better Nigeria, there must be a vision that will span decades and will be unfolding much after you have gone. This is a good experiment of such.
What are the challenges you can envisage as regards evacuating cargoes from the Lekki Deep Sea port?
We are already working on it. In fact my first motion in the House (of Representatives) was for the construction of the coastal roads. This road used to be just one lane to and fro but now it has been expanded to three lanes. The state government is already working on it and there will still be more because the management is also looking into it. It is not just the road to be big, but to make sure we don’t make the mistake of Apapa Port, by ensuring that the necessary facilities are put on ground such as truck parks where the trucks will be parked. We must set aside land to ensure that some people invest in it and create parks for trucks. We don’t want the situation where the trucks will be parking along the roads. So these are the challenges we have in Apapa. Now that we are starting this anew, all these areas have actually been put into consideration. We also have the port terminals where cargoes can be moved to, pending the time the owners will come and pick them. So that people will not be having so much traffic along this area. And I believe many people who have already started investing in those areas; there are people who have started taking possession of land to be used for all these facilities. A port like this will bring in so many other logistic businesses. So when we have all those on ground, then the traffic on the road will be minimal at the end of the day.
What about the Rail Project?
The rail is also a project that the state government has already planned along this route. The train will be going from Lagos to Port Harcourt, because this coastal road will continue go down to Port Harcourt. So if we are able to have that, any cargo coming from this area will be able to go down to Port Harcourt by rail. The Lagos State government is already working on that and you know the Ondo state government have already done their own part of the coastal road up to the boundary of Lagos State. The project is almost completed now. By the time Lagos continues its own and they meet at that end, that means people can now from this area move to Port Harcourt. A lot of other opportunities will actually be coming up. The Press also has a lot to do. By the time we begin to orchestrate these developments, many people with ideas will be moving in. We told our people that there will be little pains especially when they are constructing these roads. Sometimes people complain about traffic along this road because of the construction going on. The Governor has also done the Eleko Junction road down to Epe. He is already working on the Eleko junction back to Abraham Adesanya. He is doing so many networks of road so that this gain will not become a pain to us. There is another network of road that will burst out at Ijebu Ode. So we are doing so many things together at the state level and at the federal level, to ensure that this project is not becoming a burden to Nigerians
How soon should we expect delivery of the roads?
It is going very fast even beyond my expectation. The construction started just late last year. They know the importance of this road to the port and Dangote refinery. Dangote refinery alone has over 4,000 trucks working there presently. These are very big and massive projects. We also have some tank farms along this axis such as Pinnacle and others distributing petroleum products. So this area is very strategic for Nigeria and I believe this is not the function of the Local or State Government alone. The Federal Government must also come in to help with infrastructure. With the project here, people are going to be paying taxes to the Federal Government and there will be revenue generation because profit will be made; this is going to earn Nigeria so much money. Also, we are going to stop fuel subsidy by April. In the PIA, it was supposed to be in June, we had to make an amendment for it to stop in June, but the Federal Government has said from April, it will actually be removed and that cannot be done if Dangote refinery and others are not ready. That means all these will come up in the next one or two months. The Dangote refinery also has a petrochemical company which is going to be useful for the chemicals we use for plastics, pharmaceuticals and others. This will bring in billions of dollars every year. It will open different opportunities for people. Power generation can also be gotten from Dangote. There will be gas. So many things are going to come up and it is just for very Nigerian to be set to take advantage of every opportunity and also look at the emerging opportunities and be set to tap into it. We are not going to be calling foreigners for every project. We ourselves will take responsibility.
shippingposition
Kindly like us on Facebook/twitter
