Rivers model seaport loses over N1bn in 6 months

The Onne Model Seaport, Oil and Gas free zone and other multinationals located in Rivers State have lost over one billion naira in containerized cargos and other domestic goods within six months.

Also, about 27 trailers have suffered untold losses for fallen off the road with loaded cargos worth millions of naira.

Comrade Umar Giwa, Chairman South/South, South/East duty trucks members of National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, disclosed this on Saturday in an interview with newsmen in Port Harcourt, River State capital.

Giwa explained that the huge losses were due to the long neglected Rivers-Eleme East-West road.

He said the roads are dotted with deep potholes from Port-Harcourt-Eleme junction down to the trailer park linking the model seaport.

Regrettably, Giwa added that the major federal roads linking Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa and Delta states are long in deplorable conditions.

Within last week, Giwa revealed that two 20ft containers and one 40ft container had fell off from their trucks while on transit to various destinations.

Worse still, the roads have become unsafe for motorists due to incessant cases of armed robbery, kidnapping and marauding gangs of youths who almost always attack the helpless truck drivers.

Other flashpoints in the state are Eleme, Eliozu, Obigbo, Choba and Obehe roads.

It would be recalled that Eleme, a suburb of the state metropolis warehouses the industrial zone playing host to oil and gas companies, petrochemicals and fertilizer companies in the state yet, a haven for criminals due to bad roads.