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WHILE some countries are assuaging the challenges faced by their citizens amid COVID- 19, decades of bad governance and waste of resources are compounding the agonies of Nigerians. The National Assembly earlier in the week intervened with a view to shelving the planned increase in electricity tariff. But little did most Nigerians know they would wake up to a hike in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit ( petrol) on July 1, the same day the tariff was to be increased. The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission ( NERC) had disclosed plan to increase tariff by about 100 per cent, as the sector struggles to perform since it was privatised in 2013. The decision was to takeoff in April but was moved to July 1. Now, the National Assembly and other stakeholders have

happening on the issue of railway. The Tin Can port in Apapa was not conceptualised with railway and we don’t want a replica of that in Lekki. We expect that the necessary things would be done before the project is completed,” said Kingsley Chikezie, National Secretary, Importers Association of Nigeria ( IMAN).

He maintained that without a rail link to the Lekki port, importers would suffer congestion, illegal tolls by hoodlums, and dilapidated access roads. He also suggested that the rail line should be networked to link major inland container depots off Shagamu or the Ijebu Ode area.

A maritime consultant, Bright Ijabor, said building a deep seaport without rail and an effective inland water transportation system for moving cargoes out of the facility is not in tandem with contemporary maritime operations.

“It will be a shame if the Federal Government, Lagos State Government, promoters of the Lekki port, and the entire Lekki Free Trade Zone fail to give due attention to the mode of cargo evacuation from the port before it becomes fully operational,” Ijabor said.

He lamented that the Lekki Free Trade Zone, which houses the Lekki port, is not connected to rail and that the single road, Lekki- Epe Expressway, linking the axis is narrow. This cannot serve the thousands of trucks that would be accessing the port.

Already, the influx of people into new towns springing up daily on the Lekki- Epe corridor has increased the number of vehicles on the road, leading to constant traffic congestion. He described this experience as a foretaste of what awaits commuters when the seaport takes off.

But Jato Adams, General Manager ( Corporate and Strategic Communications) of the Nigerian Ports Authority ( NPA), said there is a plan already by the Ministry of Transportation to link all seaports with rail. “This will be incorporated and integrated with the ongoing rail rehabilitation programme nationwide,” he explained.

A source close to the project also said the Federal Government has promised to link the port with rail as part of a plan to link all seaports in the country. The source said it would not augur well for Nigeria to complete such a multi- billion- naira project and potential economic booster without good road and rail link. “Although, Lagos State Government has promised to expand the road, but expansion cannot solve the impending problem. Constructing an alternative road will be better. It will sound unwise if the project is completed ahead of the road and rail link,” the source added.

Ojiekwe Eric, the spokesperson at the Ministry of Transportation, promised to give The Guardian an update but could not do so as at press time.

In a chat with journalists in Lagos, Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority, Hadiza Bala Usman, had said: “When we took over two years ago, there was no provision for rail connection out of Lekki, in the deep seaport plan, which I found quite strange that you can have a deep seaport without the need for rail connection. It will take you two years to build the port but five years to build the rail. So, we have written the Nigerian Railway Corporation to ensure that there is a rail connection.”

Currently, the Lekki port’s breakwater is over 50 per cent completed. The facility, which sits on 90 hectares of land at the centre of the Lagos Free Trade Zone, will have 1.5km long breakwater, 6km long approach channel with 19.5m draught, 670m diameter turning circle and 1.5km long quay wall.