By METROWATCH
The former Transportation Minister, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has received fresh attention in the wake of the arrival of the largest container vessel to berth in Nigerian waters. This is a continued fallout of the policies and actions of the Ministry when the onetime governor of Rivers State was in charge.
This was pointed out by the erstwhile National Publicity Secretary of the defunct New People’s Democratic Party (nPDP) and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, who has thus hailed Rt Hon Amaechi over the continuous reverberation of the period of his stewardship of the Ministry through enduring legacies that will remain dear to the Nigerian State considering their importance to the people and the economy.
Specifically reacting to the historic berthing at the Lekki Deep Seaport, Lagos, of the biggest Container Ship on Nigeria waters, Sunday 21st January, 2024, the APC Chief said Amaechi has displayed a peculiar mastery of the mechanics of the Nigerian economy, saying his rare and sophisticated knowledge represents an elixir to the country’s socio-economic challenges.
In a statement made available to the media, Chief Eze said efforts by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to advance bilateral trade through the template established by the former Minister (Chibuike Amaechi) is yielding results with the berthing at the Lekki Deep Seaport, of the largest container carrier to sail in Nigerian territorial waters.
While inspecting the construction work at the project site of the Lekki Sea Port in 2022, the then Minister highlighted that the project would contribute about $360 billion over the years. “It sounds huge, but we actually need more of that money to accomplish what we want to achieve,” Amaechi said.
According to the former Minister, “The argument we had in cabinet is that the need for a deep seaport at Lekki was as a result of the fact that the demand for port activities in the country has exceeded the supply of Tincan and Apapa around Lagos.
“This is the first seaport in Nigeria. What we had all this while were river ports. Tincan is a river port; Apapa is a river port, and Port Harcourt, too, is a river port.
“Right here, you have 16.5m drought which is good for the country, but the country needs more than just one of this port because of the increase in commercial activities in the future.”
This patriotic Nigerian Leader had other visions but these were scuttled by paucity of funds and lack of enough years to accomplish them. These other visions articulated then were found in the following statement: “We need just more than Lagos deep seaport and for me, before I leave office, I will emphasise on the construction of the Bonny deep seaport.”
The former Transportation minister also expressed his wish to connect the Lekki deep seaport to a rail line.
Amaechi added that the project, when completed, would create more economic activities and jobs for youths, and to the Glory of God the Port recently berthed the vessel christened ‘Maersk Edirne’ which was received Sunday January 21, 2024. It has an overall length of 367M with the breadth measured at 48.2, built to carry a Gross Registered Tonnage (GRT) of 142,131 metric tonnes and a Dead Weight Tonnage (DWT) of 147,340 metric tonnes, constituting 3,376 total cargoes onboard.
Eze said the Lekki Deep Seaport is a brainchild of the former Rivers Governor, saying he conceived, designed, commenced, and led the project to an advanced stage of completion.
Facilities at the Port would include well-designed marine infrastructure such as container (phase one), dry bulk, and liquid terminals (phase two), making it a truly multi-purpose port.
The port which construction was commenced during the Covid-19 period is expected to contribute more than $200 billion to the government exchequer and take 170,000 young people off the labour market.
Aside significantly increasing the container throughput capacity of the western Nigerian port complex, the Lekki Deep Seaport will also promote infrastructure growth in Africa through the construction of highways, railways, and aviation networks.
The strategic location, flexible, and optimised layout, and modern facilities are said to give Lekki Port a competitive edge over any other port facility in the West African region; and upon completion, the Port will become one of the largest deep-water ports in West Africa.
Industry experts say it can only take a man of vision and rounded patriot like Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi to envision such a great project with a potential of repositioning Nigeria into one of the giants in the world.
Appearing as guest in a programme on Arise Television where he reflected on his political legacy, Amaechi pointed to significant infrastructure projects, including the construction of the Lekki Deep Sea Port, and the Lagos-Ibadan and Abuja/Kaduna railway lines. He expressed satisfaction with the continued operation of these projects, considering them as legacies he would like to watch.
Notwithstanding efforts by little minds to disparage and dent Amaechi’s image, Eze said the former Minister and two-time Governor of Rivers State has placed himself as an all-time legend and one of the outstanding patriots of this generation.
The fact remains and if we can be truthful to ourselves and consider the unique feats and legacies Amaechi bestowed on Nigeria while in office and if Nigeria is blessed with 55 visionary and patriotic Leaders like him we will not be in the mess we are in now as a nation but God will bail us out no matter the odds.
