House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on the Rehabilitation and Operationalisation of the Baro Inland Port has pledged to partner with relevant stakeholders, both within and outside the country, to make the facility fully operational and restore its historical role in Nigeria’s economic development.
Chairman of the Committee Alhaji Sa’idu Abdullahi, announced this during the inaugural meeting of the committee as part of move to outline a bold mandate of transforming decades of unfulfilled promises into tangible action.
Alhaji Abdullahi Sa’idu, emphasized the critical importance of moving beyond rhetoric to concrete efforts that will see the Baro Port, located in Niger State, back to life.
“This committee is tasked with converting the endless talk over the years into real action. Baro Inland Port is a sleeping giant, and our job is to wake it,” he said.
The committee Chairman said, three major components currently preventing the Baro Inland Port from becoming operational are, dredging of the capital channel, ensuring navigability for vessels along the river, rail connectivity between Baro and Minna, linking the port to the larger national rail grid and access roads to the port, providing viable land routes for cargo movement.
In his contribution, former Deputy Speaker of the house Alhaji Idris Ahmad Wase, also a member of the Ad-hoc committee, stressed the need for understanding of the full scope of the project and its regional significance.
Alhaji Ahmad Wasa, explained that when discussing the Baro Port, it’s important to be clear that it’s not just for Niger or Nigeria, the project has the potential to serve the country and the entire Northern African sub-region.
Another member of the Committee and the Chairman House Committee on Customs, Mr Leke Abejide, raised critical concern over lack of incentives for major shipping lines, which has caused similar ports across Nigeria to fail.
COV/TSIBIRI
