Gov. Kashim Shettima of Borno on Tuesday promised to work with the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) to establish the Maiduguri Dry Port which was conceived in 2006.
Shettima made the promise when he met members of the NSC led by the Executive Secretary, Malam Hassan Bello in Maiduguri.
He said the port would help in revamping the state’s economy which had been devastated by the Boko Haram insurgency.
He added that “if we are serious about addressing the Boko Haram insurgency, we have to fix Borno and the rest of the North East.
“Some may see the Boko Haram crisis as Borno’s problem but there is always a ripple effect when a population centered within a region is either hot or cold.
“Borno is to the North-East what Kano is to the North-West; Borno is to the Northeast what Lagos is to the South-West and what Port Harcourt is to the South-South.
“If the economy of Lagos boils, the southwest will catch the cold.
“Borno is gateway to export of goods to Chad, Niger, Cameroon, Sudan and Central Africa.”
The governor, who said that Borno had the chunk of the northeast population, added that he was glad
that the NSC was committed to the dry port project in the state.
He noted that the project was capable of making huge impact on the economy of Borno, with multiplier effects to the rest of the northeast.
“We will support the NSC to ensure the success of the project,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that when established, the port will have all the features of an international port with agencies similar to those at the ports in Lagos, Port Harcourt and other parts of the country, for import and export of goods to countries such as Chad, Niger, Cameroon, Sudan and the Central African Republic. (NAN)
