Secretary to the Oyo State Governor, Lekan Ali has reiterated need for the state’s collaboration with Nigeria Shippers’ Council (NSC) to ensure take off of the Inland Container Depot (ICD) in Ibadan.
Leading a delegation on a visit to the management of the NSC on Tuesday in Lagos, Ali said that the Ibadan ICD project has been abandoned in its incomplete state for too long.
He said that the resuscitation of moribund infrastructures and the establishment of a viable transport network system is what the State expects of the port commercial regulator adding that there is need for collaboration between the port regulator and other stakeholders in the transport sector to realize the possibility of a functional ICD not only in Ibadan but in other parts of Nigeria.
He said the absence of a functional rail line connecting the ICD is a major factor impeding the smooth takeoff of the project.
“One thing that is very germane is the issue of the rail which is about 1.5 kilometers from Eremu from where you could have the connection and we have written a long while that the Ministry of Transport should please consider through the Nigeria Railway Corporation the possibility of linking the dry port by rail so that when goods come into the country, they can be transported by rail,” he said.
Ali said that the full operation of Ibadan ICD is the boost Oyo State requires for investors and increased employment of its indigenes
He said: “We believe this is the time we want to get to that level of industrialisation. To check unemployment and move in many investors as much as possible.”
Executive Secretary/CEO of Nigeria Shippers’ Council (NSC), Barrister Hassan Bello, said the idea of dry ports was conceived by the NSC to decongest the port and subsequently boost the nation’s economy.
He however said the delay in the take off of the Ibadan dry port was due to the fact that the Council does not have the legal frame work to establish the dry ports as ports of origin and ports of destination so that cargo can be consigned to the ports.
“It has not been easy for several reasons chief of which is the argument or gap in the legal frame work. These ports are supposed to be designated and gazetted as port of destination and port of origin. This has been going on because we have been steadfast in pushing and promoting the idea of dry ports. We have been pushing for this to be done. The Minister of Transport set up a committee and the committee has made some recommendation and the Minister has forwarded it to the president.
“But all pressure is now there and your governor and other governors who show concern on this should come together and put a lot of pressure so that this designation would be done,” Bello said.
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