Contrary to earlier position of the Federal Government on the relevance of building deep seaports here and there by state governments when existing ports are yet to achieve up to 70 per cent utilization, recent declaration of support for the Ibaka Deep Seaport project in Akwa Ibom State by the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo has created some levels of shocks.
It would be recalled that the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) had earlier last year argued that some deep seaport scheme being under taken by some states will be reviewed to ascertain their true relevance in the face of current poor utilization of existing six seaports.
Lagos State and Akwa Ibom are currently working towards building deep seaports in their states to grow their economies.
Whereas Lagos State sited her own at Badagry, Akwa Ibom located its own at Ibaka waterfront.
In his remarks during his state visit to Akwa Ibom State, Osinbajo described the state as built with a tradition of progressive activism, patriotism and development with strategic importance to the Federal government.
Osinbajo hinted that provision has been made in the 2017 budget to support the project through the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA), stressing that the project is strategic.
According to him, the project would soon witness considerable progress
