Fishery Terminal Lease: N3m Paid Up To 2010 -MD

The management of Taraba Fisheries Limited, Port Harcourt has stated that it still has the legal rights to manage the Federal Coastal Fishery Terminal, Borokiri, despite efforts by some persons to edge it out of the facility.

According to Mr Gilbert Paul, the Managing Director of Taraba Fisheries, its agreement with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources, appointing it as   manager of  the terminal still subsists.

He said that since 1997, when his organisation was appointed manager for an initial period of five years, subject to renewal, it has performed creditably and the  agreement was renewed for another five years.

However, since 2007, Taraba Fisheries has been on a yearly arrangement with the ministry and has paid the agreed lease sum of N3 million per annum in advance upto 2010.

Speaking further in an interview  through a liaison, Paul said that it came to their notice that some persons were trying to interfere with their management and peaceful occupation of the terminal.

He said that such persons using different fronts and persons in government have been using subtle means, threats and blackmail to see that they are thrown out of the terminal where they have invested a huge amount of money.

 The managing director said that he was surprised to have received a letter supposedly  from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources later last year purportedly terminating Taraba’s appointment as mangers of the terminal, even when their lease/payment is still running.

He wondered why anybody would want to stampede them out of the terminal without waiting for the lease/payment to elapse.