A Warri-based legal luminary and opinion leader, Chief Andi Osawota, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to resuscitate the moribund ports in southern Nigeria alongside his planned inland port project in the northern region.
Osawota, who is also a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta State, made the appeal during an exclusive media chat with our correspondent at his Effurun residence in Uvwie Local Government Area last weekend.
The legal icon, reacting to media reports on President Tinubu’s approval of the construction of an inland port in the northern part of the country, recalled that he had earlier appealed for the resuscitation of the abandoned sea ports in Warri, Sapele, Oghara, Forcados, Burutu, Koko, and Port Harcourt.
He noted that his earlier call, which was widely published, was being reiterated in light of the President’s latest approval.
Chief Osawota argued that his renewed appeal was necessary because the southern region remains the nation’s economic mainstay, the “hen that lays the golden egg.”
He stressed that the billions already invested in the construction of these natural seaports should not be wasted, given that Nigeria’s economy depends heavily on the oil wealth of the south.
The APC chieftain, who is also an author of several books, maintained that reviving the seaports in southern Nigeria would not only empower the people of the region but also significantly boost the country’s overall economy.
