Confab delegate makes case for new seaports in Ajaokuta, Lokoja

Stories by Enyeribe Anyanwu
Lagos

A Kogi delegate at the on-going National Conference, Hajiya Ladi Ibrahim, has urged the federal government to build seaports in Ajaokuta and Lokoja. She also appealed to the government to commence full dredging of the River Niger in order to make this possible.
Ibrahim, who made the plea in a statement made available to newsmen in Lagos said that a port in Ajaokuta would facilitate movement of the company’s raw materials and the finished products.

She stressed that the burden would also be less on the roads since water transportation covers the entire nation.
Ibrahim, who was a former Auditor-General in Kogi, said it had become imperative to have a seaport in Ajaokuta, pointing out that “no nation achieved industrialisation without its steel industry.”

She said that if government could complete the construction of Ajaokuta Steel Complex, a lot would be achieved towards the nation’s industrialisation.
According to her, it is a threat to the industrialized nations for any developing country to come up with its steel industry.
Ibrahim, who is also the Chairman of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN), explained that the Ajaokuta Steel Complex alone could generate over 10,000 jobs for Nigerian youths.