..As Amaechi pushes for the relocation of 5,000 Lekki inhabitants
By Chesa Chesa, Myke Uzendu, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday in Lagos praised the efforts of the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, towards making the Lekki Deep Sea Port a reality, and directed him to consult and bring up a memorandum to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to link the facility with the railway network.
As part of his engagements in Lagos, the President inspected the rate of work done at the first Deep Sea Port in Nigeria located in Lagos Free Zone, 65Km east of Lagos.
In the course of the inspection, the President received firm assurances that the port, which has a concession period of 45 years and sits in a land area of 90 hectares, will be completed on schedule by September.
In his address, The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi hinted the need to relocate about 5, 000 inhabitants around the Lekki Deep Seaport to a more convenient place.
According to the minister: “I think relocation would be the best because if you do your environmental service, the implication is that you don’t just dislodge people from their natural environment even though the law gives you the power to one the land, you must take into consideration those who leave around the area.
“I want to have a conversation with the governor of Lagos State on what happened because we need to acquire all that land, which is about 1, 000 hectares.
“The reason for asking the president to come is to publicise the seaport so that people will know this Government is building a seaport and the first deep seaport in Nigeria.
“The other ports in Nigeria are all river ports. The next reason for the president coming is to put the heat on them, you are now that the port is almost ready, if not for the equipment, they can actually get this place ready before June, but they said the equipment are arriving by June, 2022 and installation will take them till September, 2022 and it can be commissioned in September.
“You see the miracle of bringing the president here, that is why it is important for a president to inspect projects, that will hasten the process of completion of there is money.”
On the railway, he said that private investors could come in to build a railway line that would link the port.
