Seven months after the multi-billion Onitsha River Port in Anambra State was commissioned by the Managing Director of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Dr George Moghalu, and expected to start full operations with vessels and barges calling at the river port, no such activity has taken place at the port.
The port was commissioned in the last quarter of 2020 and the NIWA MD had at the time stated that an international shipping giant, Maersk Line, had listed the port in its itinerary as port of final destination and that has even started sending shipments to it. The shipping line had, however, denied the claim.
Port to handle 10000 containers at a time
He said the aim was to break the jinx and encourage partnership with the Barge Operators Association and that the port was capable of handling 1,000 containers at once, which would then be transported by road to their destinations, which are nearer than Apapa and Tin Can port in Lagos or the Onne port in Rivers.
However, no container has been discharged at the Onitsha port seven months after the celebrated arrival of cargoes by barges.
Findings by 21st CENTURY CHRONICLE revealed that the commissioning in October 2020 was the third in history of the port.
One port, three commissioning
The port was built under the administration of President Shehu Shagari in 1983 but remained dormant until 2012, when it was rehabilitated and commissioned by former President Goodluck Jonathan.
To make it functional, concession of the port started since 2013 and the inability to conclude the concession is said to be responsible for the port not becoming operational.
It would be recalled that after the commissioning, NIWA gave assurances that the port would commence full operation by the first quarter of 2021. This timeline has however not been achieved. Another plan by the agency to receive 1,000 containers by March was also not achieved.
No concessionaire yet
21st CENTURY CHRONICLE also learnt that there’s no way the river port will be operational as there’s currently no concessionaire in place. This is so as the concession process was stalled due to a case instituted by International Trading and Contracting Limited against the Federal Ministry of Transportation, NIWA, the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Authority and four others.
Like Baro, Onitsha port is simply political – Experts
A maritime expert who preferred anonymity also said like the Baro River port in Niger state, the river course is not navigable so operations at the Onitsha river port are not feasible.
Another maritime expert, Okey Ibeke, in a telephone interview, said the whole activity around the port since the purported commissioning was a political propaganda.
According to him, the port was not even partially functional as claimed by NIWA and that it was impossible for barges to ply the river unless the River Niger is dredged.
“There are sand dunes in front of the port right now. Will barges fly over the sand? None of the basic things that should be in place for a port to function have been put in place.
“The port has not been concessioned, it has not been gazetted by the federal government as a port of final discharge and that is why the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) cannot deploy personnel and equipment there or list it as a port of discharge. If they say it is functional, who clears goods when they arrive there?” he said.
Mr Ibeke said the issue of concession, which is marred by legal disputes, will have to be cleared before containers can begin to go there, adding that the claim by NIWA that barge operators had been licensed to operate there was part of a grand propaganda to score political points.
“We want the port to function as it will boost the economy of Anambra State in particular and the South East in general but the port won’t function on propaganda.
“The major thing is the dredging of the River Niger and until that is done, it remains propaganda.
“The NIWA MD is contesting the governorship election in Anambra State and because he knows that this particular project is dear to Anambra people and indeed all Igbo people, he has been trying to create the impression that the port is functional but there is nothing like that.”
A businessman in Aba, Abia State, Ndubuisi Chibuzor, decried the state of affairs at the port, saying transporting cargo from Lagos to the Eastern part of the country contributes to the high cost of goods, with attendant risk of accidents on the road, while the goods are being conveyed.
“I was really excited when the port was commissioned last year and it was announced that cargo will start coming to Onitsha but many months after, it has turned out to be another political gimmick.
“It is so sad that despite the high level of commerce in the South-East, the issue of a river port has been politicised for nearly 40 years.”
Onitsha port not designated – Customs
Findings also revealed that for any port in Nigeria to be operational and receive cargo, it must be designated a destination port by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), who will also deploy its personnel there for provision of services. It was, however, learnt that this is not the case with the Onitsha River Port.
When contacted, public relations officer of the NCS, Joseph Attah, confirmed that the service had neither designated the port a destination port nor deployed personnel there.
Why the port is not operational – NIWA
Spokesperson for NIWA, Jibril Dardau, confirmed that the port was not fully operational, when contacted.
Contrary to reports that it had been commissioned and had started receiving barges since 2020, he said what happened was a test run from Onne to Onitsha but that the port had been in partial use since that time.
“Julius Berger, the company working on the 2nd Niger Bridge has been bringing in materials for the construction through the river port and that is why I said it is partially operational,” he said.
Jibril said plans were underway to carry out a second test run from Lagos to Onne and that the inland waterways agency had been meeting with various stakeholders including importers and owners of cargo in the Eastern part of the country in that regard, pointing out that “you know we do not have cargo to move so we have to liaise with them.”
He further stated that to guarantee seamless operations of the port, 14 barge operators had been licensed for the test run and would continue offering services there when the port becomes fully operational.
The NIWA spokesperson also said another issue the agency was trying to resolve before commencement of full operations was security, as importers had expressed fears about safety of their cargo.
“We are working with the Navy and other agencies for proper security arrangement,” he added.
According to him, there was no date yet for either the test run or commencement of full operations at the port.
