By John Odhe, YENAGOA
The Nigerian Navy says construction of a deep seaport will be of immense benefit to Bayelsa State and the navy itself.
The Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) the Central Naval Command (CNC), Yenagoa, Rear Admiral Suleiman Ibrahim made the statement while commissioning four projects executed by the central naval command and the Nigerian Navy Ship Soroh (NNS-Soroh) at the CNC headquarters in Yenagoa.
The event is part of the ongoing celebration of the 70th anniversary of the navy’s existence in Nigeria.
The FOC who represented the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abas, said “the benefit of a deep seaport, as a mariner, as a naval officer, is quite immense because Bayelsa is an oil and gas producing State.”
“However, all activities that are going on right now are supported from either Rivers State or Delta State. So, if a seaport is domiciled in Bayelsa, the benefits are quite uncomfortable because it is going to create jobs, it is going to open up the oil and gas industry and most of the transit that is done from offshore Bayelsa to either Rivers or Delta State will be cut and all of those benefits will be accruable to Bayelsa State.
“Just yesterday, we did a sea visit for civilians. We have to go through Delta State and we did another one in Rivers State but because Bayelsa does not have a seaport we couldn’t do for Bayelsa and they didn’t benefit from it,” he said.
He called on the State government to expedite action on the ongoing construction of the Agge Deep Seaport in Ekeremor Local Government Area of the State.
The projects commissioned during the celebration include: a 200 meters Ratings’ Quarters Footbridge, a remodelled NNS- Soroh’s Administrative Block and it’s extension as well as Senior and Junior Rates’ Mess.
The chief of naval staff noted he believed that the state-of-the-art facilities which he commissioned would, no doubt, boost operational morale of officers of the central naval command.
He urged them to not only utilise the facilities for maximum rest and increased productivity but also maintain them for posterity.
Earlier in his address, the commander of the NNS-Soroh, Commodore Christian Akokota commended the chief of naval staff for giving him the opportunity to serve and the FOC for his support and encouragement without which the projects would not have been completed on record time of less than five months.
He said the idea to embark on the administrative blocks and the rates’ mess projects was borne out of the command’s desire to provide conducive working atmosphere for her personnel.
“This is with the view of enhancing operational effectiveness and it is in line with the command’s philosophy of the chief of naval staff,” he added.
The event witnessed the presence of heads of other security agencies as well as the special adviser to the governor on security matters, representing the Bayelsa State government.
