The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the contract for the dredging of the Warri Escravos seaport at a cost of N13b.
The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, stated this while briefing State House correspondents on the outcome of the cabinet meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday in Abuja.
The minister revealed that the sum of N13 billion would be spent on the project. According to Amechi, the approval is against the backdrop of a memo presented by his ministry. Speaking earlier, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Hadiza Bala Usman, noted that the dredging project would basically change the fortunes of Warri ports.
“It will expand the utilization of our eastern ports, we believe in the need to ensure that all port locations are given the seamless access by providing dredging works and that is what we are here to do today,” she added.
Speaking further, the NPA boss disclosed that the procurement of the dredging works for the Calabar port had also reached an advanced state.
“We inherited a system that did not go through the relevant processes which we terminated. We are now almost concluding Calabar and we will also come and seek Federal Executive Council’s consideration for that.”
Stating that NPA has been able to tackle corruption in its operations, Usman said that the agency has blocked revenue leakages and enshrined seamless accounting processes by ensuring payment of debts and compliance with the Treasury Single Account.
The NPA boss however said that corruption was fighting back all the time as “we have had instances where corruption is pushing back and we’ve remained resolute with the support of Mr. President in assisting us to fight corrupt practices in the Nigerian Ports Authority,” Usman said.
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