A former president of the Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Dr. Emi Membere-Otaji, is calling out a lack of priority for the state as a major barrier to reviving Rivers State's seaports.
Dr. Membere-Otaji, during an interview on Nigeria Info’s Hard Facts, said insecurity was a major factor that drove shipping companies away from Port Harcourt towards western ports. He however revealed how he proposed government incentives, such as reduced charges, to offset the higher insurance costs associated with operating in the region.
The medical doctor turned business mogul and one-time commissioner for health in Rivers State, criticized the lack of synergy between Rivers State representatives in the federal government and the state government itself at the time he was president of the Chamber of Commerce. He points out instances where federal representatives from the state appeared to oppose efforts to improve the state's seaports.
“The issue was our people in the centre at Abuja, who incidentally were in a position to help, saw the state government at the time as an enemy. They were working at cross purposes,” he said.
He acknowledged that there have been improvements since then (2015), but stressed the importance of continued collaboration between all stakeholders. He uses the metaphor of a pot of soup to illustrate this point:
“You know, it's like a soup. Everything you put in; everything adds up to the food. The okra you put, the salt you put, the pepper, everything adds up to it.”
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