Group Decries Poor Roads To Rivers Ports

The Federal and  Rivers
state  Governments have been called upon to take urgent action to address the poor state of roads leading to the Rivers and Onne Ports in Rivers State.
The call was  contained in a communiqué issued at the end of a one-day seminar organised by the Maritime Energy Media  Practitioners of Nigeria (MEMPON), which took place at the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Training Centre, Rivers Port on Thursday.
In the communiqué, stakeholders and participants stated that with the deplorable condition of the roads, the much needed high  patronage  coming to the ports could be  diverted to other ports, but that good roads would improve  the commercial activities at the ports, thereby enhancing the economy of the country.
It raised alarm over what it described as “continuous reckless abandonment of roads leading to the various ports” in Rivers  State, adding that  the poor road network to the Rivers Port  Complex  and that of the East-West road leading to Onne Port could discourage importers and their agents from patronising the ports.
In a chat with journalists, the President of MEMPON, Dr. John Ralph lamented that it is unfortunate that all the roads leading to the Ports in Rivers State were huge revenue is being generated to the governments are being treated with levity, adding that the sorry state of the roads is  condemnable and a challenge to the nation’s economy.
Ralph appealed to the various authorities to urgently carry out rehabilitation work on the roads inorder to give the ports a facelift and improved ports activities  as such would attrack importers to patronize the ports rather than going to the Western Ports to clear their cargoes.
The seminar which attracted a cream of dignitaries from all walks of life including stakeholders has as its theme, “Maximising Maritime And Energy sectors of the Economy” as a way of  maintaining a sustainable growth, also featured presentation of Papers and awards of recognition for their contributions to the sectors.