Ben Ayade signs Deep Seaport Transaction Advisory Contract

The hope of the Government and people of Cross River state took a great step forward as Governor of Cross River State, Prof. Ben Ayade, signed the Bakassi Deep Seaport Transaction Advisory Service Contract with Feedback Infrastructure Consortium, the Transaction Advisers.

Signing the contract witnessed by representatives from the Federal Ministries of Finance and Transport, and the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA), at the Executive chambers Hall, Governor’s Office, Calabar, Tuesday, Governor Ayade thanked President Muhammadu Buhari, the Minister of Transport and his ministry and other stakeholders who worked to ensure that the dream of getting a deep seaport has gotten to this stage in spite of politically motivated setback the Signature projects (Bakassi Deep Seaport and the 275 km Super Highway) had suffered.

Ayade who described the Bakassi Deep Seaport as a project with enormous potential to attract the highest patronage globally by virtue of its location in the continent of Africa, stated that, “The political struggle to stop the signature projects was/is huge, but the Federal government  and President  Buhari is behind the state’s effort to achieve its dream”.

The Governor explained that with the 2002 International Court of Justice (ICJ) Judgment on Bakassi and final ceding of the territory to Cameroon leading to the loss of 76 oil wells to Akwa Ibom State, there was need to think out of the box, using the power of intellect to achieve what the pocket lacked, stressing that the signature projects deals with the fundamental survival of the people of Cross River State.

Senator Ayade stated that there is every need for Nigeria to have more than 20 functional ports in the country, and that it is economically and in terms of security unwise for seaports in the country to be concentrated only in one location, adding that once completed the signature projects will make Cross River state the new industrial hub of Africa, coupled with the vast natural resources including natural gas and crude and solid minerals discovered in the state in commercial quantity.

Ayade disclosed that his administration is putting in place infrastructure as a means to galvanised industrialisation and development, asserting that government has built and is still building industrial parks with some now fully functional, and that out of 24 tank farms in the country, Calabar is hosting 19.

Speaking, the Managing Director of Feedback Infrastructure Consortium, Transaction Advisers of the Bakassi Deep Seaport, Engr. Onuoha I. Nnaji, disclosed that his company has been in the business for the past 15 years, and is involve in Transaction advisory issues as regards seaport globally.

Engr. Nnaji commended Ayade for not getting involved in who emerges as the transaction adviser for the deep seaport, maintaining that Ayade has use intellectual power to drive the state beyond oil and prayed that Ayade will one day get to the national level.

The Transaction Advisory Contract Agreement between the Cross State Government and Feedback Infrastructure Consortium was witnessed by the representatives from the Federal Ministries of Finance and Transport as well as the Nigerian Port Authority and members of the Cross River State Executive Council and other appointees.