Dr Taiwo Afolabi, Chairman of SIFAX Group, has called on the Federal Government to prioritise the rehabilitation and capacity expansion of Nigeria’s eastern ports to further stimulate economic activities in the axis and decongest the Lagos ports.
Afolabi said this while receiving Dr. Akutah Pius Ukeyima, Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Shippers Council, at the SIFAX Group’s head office in Lagos.
Afolabi noted that the lack of attention to the country’s eastern ports over the years has continued to negatively affect overall port efficiency.
He said: “My passionate appeal to the government is to extend the port modernisation initiative to the eastern ports. As you can see, economic activities at the ports are on the increase year on year”. The concentration of these activities is predominantly at the Lagos ports, and the facilities there have been stretched to their limits, leading to congestion that will ultimately impact port efficiency.
“This is the time for the government to resuscitate those ports in the Eastern part of Nigeria. For instance, the government needs to dredge the Warri, Onne and Calabar ports so that large vessels can berth there safely and reduce the pressure on the Lagos ports.”
The SIFAX Group boss further noted that the Tincan Island Port corridor has long struggled under the weight of traffic volumes it was never designed to sustain and that the gridlock along that axis has become a recurring cost for businesses, a source of frustration for transporters, and a drag on the economy.
Ukeyima lauded the contributions of Dr Taiwo Afolabi and SIFAX Group, which he described as one of the leading maritime investors in Nigeria, adding that the conglomerate has leveraged the maritime value chain to make substantial contributions to Nigeria’s economic growth.
He promised that his agency would collaborate with the company to move the industry forward.
