By Ajibola Adedoye
Nigeria’s eastern seaports are being held back by neglect and weak political commitment rather than lack of capacity, a maritime expert has said.
Dr. Babalola James, Secretary of the Rivers and Bayelsa Shippers Association, said the ports could play a major role in national revenue generation and job creation if properly developed and integrated into government maritime policy.
Speaking in an interview with Newsmen in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, James said facilities at ports such as Port Harcourt, Warri, Calabar, Onne, Sapele and Koko remained largely underutilised despite their strategic importance to the economy.
He attributed the situation mainly to political factors, noting that there was little will to deliberately promote cargo traffic and investment in the eastern corridor.
James explained that while the Lagos ports enjoy natural advantages by being located on the open sea, the eastern ports are situated within creeks, making them more dependent on consistent dredging and infrastructure support.
The former spokesperson of the Shipping Trade Practitioners Association of Nigeria said most facilities at the eastern ports were outdated and in poor condition, discouraging shippers and investors.
He called on the Federal Government to introduce incentives that would make the ports more attractive and competitive.
James also criticised the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) for what he described as uneven attention to port development. He said that following an inspection visit by the American Coast Guard, Lagos Port benefited from the full implementation of recommendations, while the eastern ports were largely ignored.
Despite these challenges, he noted that the eastern ports continued to generate substantial revenue for the Federal Government, with millions of dollars and trillions of naira reportedly paid into the Treasury Single Account.
According to him, upgrading infrastructure would significantly boost revenue and create more employment opportunities, particularly in the Niger Delta.
James described the eastern ports as critical to Nigeria’s economic diversification and urged authorities to prioritise channel dredging and berth rehabilitation, especially in Delta State ports and parts of the Port Harcourt Port Complex where low draft levels remain a major constraint.
