Enugu – A renowned economist, Dr Ifediora Amobi, on Wednesday urged the Federal Government to open up the South East by setting up three dry ports in the area.
Amobi, a former Director and Lead Researcher for African Heritage Institute (Afri-Heritage), made the observation in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu.
He said that there was a need to site the ports in Nnewi in Anambra, Aba in Abia and Obollo-Afor in Enugu State for strategic reasons.
He said that the ports were long overdue, noting that industrialists and traders from the areas were major importers and would soon be major exporters requiring such facilities.
The economist said that the move would help to decongest the seaports as well as create jobs in the densely-populated cities.
“Making Obollo-Afor a dry port is a fantastic idea by those currently pushing for it.
“However, it is long overdue for the South East to have three strategic container terminals in Nnewi, Aba and Obollo-Afor, to open the region for commerce in terms of import and gradually growing exports.’’
He appealed to the government to give due attention to the Akwa Ibom Deep Seaport project to further widen the country’s export and import facilities. (NAN)
