Akwa Ibom lawmakers sponsor bills to open more seaports in South-South

Legislators in Akwa Ibom State have said they have sponsored bills for the opening of more seaports in the country to ensure the ease of businesses and boost the development of the state and Nigeria.

The lawmaker representing the Etinan Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Luke Onofiok, stated this on Saturday during a virtual town hall meeting between Akwa Ibom legislators and their constituents, which was monitored by Sunday PUNCH.

At the event which was organised by Daria Media in collaboration with Channels TV and MacArthur Foundation, Onofiok explained to the South-South constituents from Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta and Edo states present that seaport development was currently under the exclusive legislative list, which prevents affected states from legislating on issues regarding it.

He said, “We know that maritime and seaport development is purely under the exclusive legislative list, which leaves the powers to legislate upon it only within the National Assembly, and so the states can only legislate on issues that are on the concurrent legislative list.

“I must state that we had a challenge regarding Apapa wharf, which caused gridlock, and it has caused a whole lot of challenges for businessmen, who wanted to evacuate their goods from the seaport; so, it is my belief and understanding that if we have many seaports, then we would have decongested the Apapa seaport and then have other seaports where people can go in there and do business.

So having realised this and understood the need for a seaport and the benefits that will accrue to the people of Akwa Ibom and Nigeria, I sponsored a bill seeking to delist my time from the exclusive legislative list to have it in the concurrent list so that the states can equally legislate on it, so that my state too, like Akwa Ibom State, can have a seaport and we have been able to have that in the constitutional amendment and we are waiting for it to go through.”

Similarly, the lawmaker representing the Abak Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives, Aniekan Umanah, responded to questions from constituents, noting that legislators had over 2,000 bills in the National Assembly that bordered on various subjects affecting the country’s development.

He stated, “On record, we have over 2,000 bills in the current Assembly bordering on several issues and subjects affecting various areas of our livelihood in the nation, so the issue of inadequate representation is not there.

“Clearly, the job of lawmakers is lawmaking and oversight, and as long as we are there, our duty is to make sure that we make laws for the good governance of the nation and we must continue to look at these issues, review as much as possible and bring up issues that will make the country better for our people