By his actions, inactions and body language, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu demonstrates his hidden agenda to keep the seaports in the old Eastern region perpetually underdeveloped, thereby compelling business people of the regions continue to patronize Lagos seaports without alternative choices, development that adds to cost of the items imported C
By Charles Uzoma
Numerous citizens of the old Eastern region now comprising of South east and South south geopolitical zones, have drawn the attention of many die-hard apologists of President Bola Tinubu government who are from the zones, to the hidden plot of the government they defend to continue to keep all the Eastern Ports underdeveloped through its policies.
Some of the vocal South south and South east indigenes working in and/or defending Tinubu government and its unpopular policies include David Umahi Minister of Works, Chukwuma Soludo governor of Anambra State, Nyesom Wike Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and Festus Keyamo Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development. Others are Monday Okpebholo governor of Edo State, Godswill Akpabio President of the Senate, governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State and Government Ekpomupolo popular as Tompolo who is the promoter of the Tantita Pipeline Security Company.
These prominent individuals have been reminded that by deliberately leaving the seaports in their domain delapitated and moribund while developing new ports and rehabilitating old ones in the South west region, the government they defend has demonstrated its resolve to destroy employment opportunities in the old Eastern region and stunt social and economic growth and development within the areas.
The calls are coming on the hills of the recent $7 billion seaport development deal for Ogun State in South west region which President Tinubu oversaw in Paris, France. By the signing, critics insisted that Tinubu demonstrated, once again, his government’s defiant pursuit of South west economic development agenda while neglecting and undermining the vast Eastern Ports which have the capacity to generate millions of jobs and save business people the stress of clearing their cargoes from the only viable ports in Lagos.
According to a social media commentator, Abel Akulaba, part of Tinubu’s campaign message to South westerners during the 2022 electioneering was that if they voted his opponent Peter Obi of then Labour Party (LP), the latter would develop the old Eastern region seaports, a development that would force business people of the regions to abandon the seaports in Lagos.
Though there has not been an official confirmation of this allegation, Akulaba insisted that it was the reason President Tinubu would sign the multi-billion dollar deal less than four months to the presidential election without fear of reaction from the South south and South east regions where the abandoned ports are situated.
Within the South east and South south regions are various seaports with some working at half capacity, others delapitated and abandoned to rot. These include the oldest port in the country, the Port Harcourt Seaport with its delapitated facilities which for decades have been operating at half capacity. The Warri Delta Port is also operating at half capacity due to the delapitated nature of its break waters which had collapsed many years ago. These almost abandoned ports are yearning for rehabilitation of their facilities, as well as dredging of their waters to enable them accomodate large vessels.
It was gathered that if the Warri Port was dredged beyond certain depth it may affect some of the oil pipelines laid underneath the river. But experts argued that the port can still be dredged if the contract can awarded to expert dredging company. This medium also gathered that the contract for the rebuilding of the Warri Port break waters and channels dredging had long been awarded, but due to the Federal Government inability to mobilize the firm, the contract had been ineffective.
The Calabar Port in Cross River State is bogged by shallow channels. The now moribund port is yearning for major dredging, as well as constant maintenance dredging to enable it attain optimum capacity functionality. Even the Onne Port, also in Rivers State which is run by Intels and majorly oil and gas cargoes, also requires rehabilitation which has not been witnessed in the recent times.
The Onitsha River Port located in Anambra State has remained a failed project for many decades. The port that could have been servicing business people in the state know to have numerous importers, is equally strategic for connecting other states including Edo, Benue, Rivers, Kogi and the host Anambra. The Onitsha River Port requires dredging to make it viable, but also requires huge amount of investment to achieve. Successive governments have neglected the port.
So also are the Oguta Lake Channel in Imo State and Azumini-Obeaku Channel in Abia State. Despite governor Alex Otti’s efforts to secure contract for the Abia Lighter Terminal Port, the Federal Government has remained foot dragging. There is the Ibaka Deep Port in Akwa Ibom which is very close to the Atlantic Ocean which the Federal Government appears to have abandoned.
Speaking at a recent forum in Lagos, the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, said the Federal Government had granted approval for the upgrading of Onne Port, Port Harcourt Seaport, Delta Port and Calabar Port to complement the ongoing modernization of the Apapa Premier Port and the Tincan Island Port, both in Lagos. “Our ambition is to build a port system that is efficient, transparent and globally competitive. We want Nigerian businesses to spend less time and resources moving their goods, while creating an environment that encourages investment and support job creation”, Oyetola had said.
Oyetola’s promise came obviously empty, analysts argued. According to them, the signing of the Memoranda of Understanding between the Ogun State Government and DP World MEA FZE for the development of the Gateway Deep Seaport and the Ogun State Blue Marine Special Economic Zone, has betrayed Tinubu government’s sincerity in developing Eastern Ports despite the rhetorics.
When the MoU which Tinubu, Oyetola and the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Abubakar Dantsoho were part of, when it comes into effect, will attract more than $7 billion in its initial investment, and will create over 50,000 direct jobs. This is according to a statement issued on Thursday, September 24, 2026 by Kayode Akinmade the Special Adviser to the Ogun State governor on Information and Strategy.
The statement added that the agreements would bring together the Federal Government, Ogun State Government, DP World financial advisers and other private sector partners in major investment framework which aim is to ease trade bottlenecks, strengthen logistics and expand manufacturing and export capacity of Nigeria.
While in United Kingdom earlier in year, Tinubu had met with then Prime Minister of the country Keir Starmer in London precisely on Monday, March 23, 2026 during a high level bilateral engagement aimed at strengthening the Nigeria-Uk relations and boosting economic collaboration.
The Special Adviser to Tinubu on Information and Strategy Bayo Onanuga had in statement said that the meeting between the two leaders culminated in the signing of several Memoranda of Understanding which spanned trade, investment, defence and cultural cooperation. At the meeting the two leaders had agreed to a £746 million financing deal between the UK Export Finance and the NPA and Nigeria’s Ministry of Finance to fund the refurbishment of the Lagos Port Complex (Apapa Quays) and the Tincan Island Port Complex in a port modernization pursuit of the government. Instructively, the modernization pursuit ignored the seaports in the old Eastern region.
Now in Lagos, the Lekki Deep Seaport, Apapa Premier Port, Tincan Island Port, the Kiri-Kiri Lighter Terminal Port are all working at full capacity. The Federal Government is aggressively pursuing the completion of the Badagry Deep Seaport in Lagos, not taking its attention off the Olokola Deep Seaport in Ondo State, all in the South west region.
