By Uzor Odigbo
An advocacy group, Save Niger Delta Group (SNDG), has revealed plans to stage a massive peaceful protest at the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) head office in Lagos, over abandonment of the modular floating dock.
The protest is due to the Federal Government refusal to relocate the multi-million dollar floating dock to the Niger Delta region, the group said.
AAA statement by the group’s acting spokesman, James Ebimene, tagged ‘Mother Of All Protests’ To Rock NIMASA Head Office Over FG’s refusal to relocate Floating Dockyard to Delta, noted that the Modular Floating Dockyard proposed location is Okerenkoko in Delta State.
The statement reads: “The floating dock acquired at a whopping sum of N50 billion has remained idle since it arrived the country on June 11, 2018.
“The intention of NIMASA, as at the time the floating dock was acquired, was to deploy it to Okerenkoko in Delta State but they changed the plan and put it on security challenges in the region, the agency decided to situate it in Lagos.
“The dry dock, was planned in the Niger Delta, to open up the region and make it more viable, including the employment that it will generate and training on shipbuilding processes and the benefits of the dock to the region would be immeasurable considering the Nigerian Maritime University in Delta.
“Without further delay, Federal Government should relocate the mega dry dock specifically designed for the region from Lagos waters, where it had been lying unused, to the Niger Delta.
“We have mobilized all our members across the Niger Delta states to storm NIMASA headquarters in Lagos for a peaceful protest by the end of this month. Enough is enough.
“Okerenkoko floating dock project was duly considered and approved by the Federal Executive Council at its 37th meeting on October 23, 2013, and the approval was conveyed to the Federal Ministry of Transport on October 29, 2013.
“The location of the dry dock in Lagos waters is contrary to the initial approval by the Federal Government for its location in Delta.
“So therefore, we have mobilized youths and women to relocate to Lagos by the end of this month (September 30) to demand that the dry dock should be moved permanently, installed and commissioned in Delta, considering the contributions of the region to the nation’s economy,” the statement reads.
It was reportedly recently that, three years after the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) spent taxpayers’ money to buy a multi-million dollar modular floating dock, is currently lying idle in Lagos, with the cost of maintenance estimated at about $30,000 daily