Asadu Seeks Increase Investments in Transport Infrastructures

The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Ports, Harbours and Waterways, Hon. Pat Asadu has called for increased investments in transport infrastructures in the country.

The legislator stated this on the heels of the lack of investment in the transportation infrastructures, especially in the South Eastern part of the country.

Apparently not pleased with the budget of the Ministry of Transport, the lawmaker expressed dismay at the neglect of the other modes of transport especially the inland waterways.

The legislator raised eyebrows over the budget of the ministry and the policy statements emanating from the ministry since the appointment of Right Hon. Rotimi Amaechi as its helmsman.

Asadu wondered why a government that is promoting national peace and harmony and the multi-modal transport policy can concentrate all its investments to the near total exclusion of a geopolitical zone where a high percentage of the overall cargo are traded, or neglect the inland waterways that provide 28 out of the 36 states of Nigeria and the federal capital territory (FCT) with cheap, fast and secure means of transportation of bulk cargo, including containers, agricultural and mining products.

Asadu who stated this in a statement issued in Abuja and obtained by THISDAY wondered why Amaechi said N213 billion of the ministry’s 2017 budget was devoted to railway infrastructure alone while only a paltry N4 billion allocated to the inland waterways and why such railway projects would not be extended to the South East zone of the country.

The House Committee Chairman reminded Amaechi of the fact that the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended clearly makes it mandatory that both appointments to public offices and development of the country’s infrastructure must be spread evenly, so as to command national loyalty. He also maintained that the neglect of the South East Zone in the ministry budget was not only an anomaly but also a violation of the Federal Character principle as enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution.

The lawmaker argued that these were some of the anomalies that sometimes generate ethnic and regional tensions, agitations and even militias across some parts of the country.

According to the statement, Asadu, a three time member, representing Nsukka /Igbo-Eze South Federal Constituency of Enugu State made his remarks during the budget defence session by the Federal Ministry of Transportation and its agencies before the House of Representatives Joint Committees considering the Ministry’s 2017 budget estimates.

The joint committee comprises those of Aviation, chaired  by Rt. Hon. Nkiru Onyejeocha (Abia), Land Transport; Rt. Hon. Aminu Sani Isah (Sokoto), Maritime Safety, Education and Administration; Rt. Hon. Mohammed Bago (Niger) and Ports, Harbours and Waterways ; Asadu (Enugu).

He also decried the very low budget releases to the ministry, pointing out that even the only 24 percent released, the ministry is yet to fully utilize it.

He enjoined the ministry to devote at least 10 percent of its railway budget to the inland waterways sector and see the effect on movement of bulk cargo and improved safety on our roads.

Asadu said the long completed Onitsha River Port, and the other River ports in Baro, Niger State, Lokoja, Kogi State and Oguta, Imo State would be wasted if the ministry cannot fund NIWA to create navigable waterways to take cargo to and from these ports.

He went on to emphasize that the Onitsha River Port is already wasting due to disuse atrophy since its completion in 2012. Disagreeing with Amaechi, the legislator insisted that the Onitsha-River port had huge potentials considering the cargo loads to the South East which made this particular river port very viable, especially when the zone has been left out in the modern railway projects of the government.

Other Chairmen and members of various committees present equally expressed displeasure with several aspects of the budget, ranging from observed lack of utilization of the released funds which many felt demonstrated lack of capacity by the ministry in procurement of critical infrastructure, even with  funds at its disposal at a time other ministries were  desperately seeking releases and using same timely,  to poor preparation of the presented budget documents, the inequitable and lopsided  distribution of the Ministry’s allocation to different modes of transportation and areas of the country, noting that rails are funded to the detriment of air and water and also condemned the uneven spread of these infrastructure to the different geopolitical zones where the Eastern ports, the Eastern roads and the Eastern airports are obviously short-changed and that even the North East is not any better.

The Chairman of the House committee on Land Transport, Hon. Aminu Sani Isah warned the ministry not to deceive the parliament as the over N60 billion released to the ministry for its rail projects are not utilized up to now, even as the Minister told members that such funds had not been cash-backed to the ministry who only had gotten the authority to incur expenditure (AIE) for the funds.