The African Democratic Congress (ADC) vice-presidential candidate, Rotimi Amaechi, has stated that he oversaw the construction of the Lekki Deep Seaport from start to finish, accusing President Bola Tinubu and Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of taking credit for the project.
Amaechi made this claim on Thursday during an ADC stakeholders’ meeting in Edo State, in response to a question about whether an ADC government would develop the Gelegele Seaport in the state to the standard of the Lekki Deep Seaport.
The former Minister of Transportation stated that the construction of several deep seaports was approved during former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, even though the concept for the Lekki project predated Buhari’s time in office.
“I built Lekki Deep Seaport from scratch to finish. I finished it completely, but I had resigned to contest for the office of the president, that’s why Sanwo-Olu got Buhari to come and commission it,” he said.
Amaechi claimed that Tinubu, Sanwo-Olu and others said they had built the facility even though, as he put it, they never visited the site while it was under construction.
“And when they were commissioning, Sanwo-Olu and others, including Tinubu, were claiming that they built it. None of them visited it from scratch,” he said.
While recounting the project’s history, Amaechi noted that the concept dated back to former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, whereas Buhari gave approval for the seaport’s construction.
“Buhari approved the construction of that seaport, but it was essentially an Obasanjo’s idea, even though it was built by Buhari,” he said.
The former governor of Rivers State stated that the Buhari administration had also given the go-ahead for deep seaport projects in Bonny, Akwa Ibom, and Warri, though funding difficulties meant some of them never got off the ground.
According to him, the planned Bonny Deep Seaport was intended to reach a depth of 18 meters, while the proposed site in Akwa Ibom offered a natural depth of 17 to 18 meters.
Amaechi further noted that the Warri seaport received approval in part to ease the movement of iron ore from northern Nigeria to Warri.
He stated that an ADC government would bring the proposed projects back to life and make sure they were built, adding that the cost would be within reach.
“We didn’t quite raise all the money to construct them. Will the ADC government take any action? Yes, we will make sure that all those seaports are built. They are not too costly,” he said.
Amaechi explained that an investment of $400m to $500m could be enough to kick off construction of the proposed seaports, with expansion to follow afterward.
