The Governor of Akwa Ibom State Governor, Chief Godswill Akpabio has expressed the determination of his administration to partner with the federal government towards the realization of the Ibaka Deep Sea Port project in Mbo Local Government Area of the state. Towards this end, he has promised to provide the necessary infrastructure for the smooth take off of the project.Governor Akpabio dropped the hint in Abuja when he handed over the certificate of occupancy for the 5,129 hectares of land and the master plan of the project to the managing director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Alhaji Omar Suleiman. The Governor said the presentation of the certificate was a giant step towards the building of a second functional sea port in Nigeria.
According to Governor Akpabio the water depth in Ibaka which he said stood at about 17 metres without dredging has given Nigeria an opportunity to take advantage of the water depth to build a viable sea port that could compete with any other international sea port around the world.
Chief Akpabio cautioned leaders not to subscribe to what he called ‘ethnocentric development’ noting that Nigeria was in dire need of economic revolution and called for a complete renaissance in the way things are done if the economic future must be secured.
According to the Governor, “From the history in the archives of the NPA, it is clear that this is not the first time the federal government has realized the inherent potential in Ibaka as a deep sea port, but successive administrations had not taken advantage of this potential,” he said and commended President Goodluck Jonathan for his initiative towards the project.
Chief Akpabio cautioned that there could be a revolution if the issue of youth unemployment is not seriously tackled. “One of the greatest problems we would have in this country would be an implosion if we don’t take the right economic steps because of the millions of graduates who are churned out yearly. A time would come when there would be an internal revolution if we don’t take the right steps now. Part of what we should do is what we are doing now,” he said.
According to Governor Akpabio the vision of his administration was to make Ibaka a maritime hub to serve the Gulf of Guinea and reiterated his resolve to provide the enabling environment for the realization of the project.
Responding on behalf of the federal government, the Managing Director of NPA, Alhaji Omar Suleiman who described Chief Akpabio as “Infrastructure Governor” said the Federal Government was glad to partner with Akwa Ibom State government in Ibaka. He noted that the natural advantage of Ibaka and the excellent road network in Akwa Ibom State would provide the needed impetus for the project.
Anietie Ekong
Special Assistant (Media) To The Governor
Abuja