The apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, has called on President Bola Tinubu’s administration to urgently complete the Port Harcourt-Enugu Expressway, the Port Harcourt-Enugu Standard Gauge Railway Line, and rehabilitate the Port Harcourt, Calabar and Warri seaports, describing the projects as critical to Nigeria’s economic future.
The demand was contained in a communiqué issued after the National Executive Council, NEC, meeting of Ohanaeze held in Umuahia, the Abia State capital.
The organisation said the continued delay in completing the projects have hampered economic growth, increased the cost of doing business, discouraged investment and weakened Nigeria’s competitiveness.
Ohanaeze urged the Federal Government to classify the projects as matters of urgent national economic importance, insisting that the call was based on economic realities rather than regional or political interests.
According to the group, the projects would benefit all parts of the country by improving transportation, boosting trade, strengthening national integration and accelerating industrialisation.
The organisation described the Port Harcourt-Enugu corridor as one of Nigeria’s most strategic economic routes, linking the oil-rich Niger Delta with the commercial and industrial centres of the South-East while serving as a gateway to the North-Central and Northern regions.
It noted that the poor state of the expressway had increased transportation costs, caused accidents, damaged goods and contributed to rising inflation through higher logistics expenses.
Ohanaeze said completing the highway would reduce travel time, improve road safety, lower transport costs, ease the movement of agricultural produce and manufactured goods, and encourage private sector investment.
The group also stressed the importance of completing the Port Harcourt-Enugu railway, saying rail transport remained the most efficient means of moving heavy cargo and passengers, while reducing pressure on federal roads and lowering logistics costs.
It further called for the rehabilitation and modernisation of the Port Harcourt, Calabar and Warri seaports, arguing that Nigeria’s over dependence on Lagos ports had led to congestion, higher shipping costs and delays in cargo clearance.
According to the communiqué, functional eastern seaports would decongest Lagos, reduce import and export costs, improve cargo turnaround time and provide businesses across the South-East, South-South, North-Central and Northern Nigeria with more direct access to international trade.
Ohanaeze said the projects were also crucial for Nigeria to maximise opportunities under the African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA, by positioning the country as a major manufacturing, logistics and maritime hub in West and Central Africa.
The organisation projected that within five years of completion, the infrastructure projects could generate between ₦3 trillion and ₦5 trillion in additional annual economic output, contribute up to 1.5 per cent to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product growth and create between 150,000 and 250,000 direct and indirect construction jobs.
It added that long-term operations in transportation, logistics, manufacturing and shipping could sustain between 500,000 and one million permanent jobs over the next decade.
Ohanaeze further estimated that rehabilitating the eastern seaports could increase government revenue by between ₦700 billion and ₦1.2 trillion annually through customs duties, port charges and related earnings.
The group also projected that improved infrastructure would attract between $5 billion and $10 billion in domestic and foreign investments over the next decade, particularly in manufacturing, petrochemicals, agro-processing, logistics and export industries.
The NEC urged the Federal Ministry of Works, the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, the Federal Ministry of Transportation, the Nigerian Railway Corporation, the Nigerian Ports Authority and other relevant agencies to fast-track the projects.
While acknowledging what it described as the Tinubu administration’s developmental efforts across the country, Ohanaeze said the era of promises on the projects should come to an end.
“The time for decisive action is now. These projects are not merely infrastructure; they are strategic investments in Nigeria’s future prosperity, unity, economic resilience and enduring greatness,” the communiqué stated.
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