A civil society organisation in Niger State, the Blue Resolution Initiative, TBRI, has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of using the Baro Port project to lure and garner votes from Niger State in the 2019 presidential elections.
The General Secretary of TBRI, Ibrahim Akib Ja’afaru, who made the allegations during a press conference in Minna, said the group feels bad that the President has not kept to his campaign promises on the issue of Baro Port after winning the election.
After a visit by the team and other youth leaders to the site, Ibrahim Akib described what the president commissioned 17 months ago as the dredging of River Niger as ‘a Warehouse and not a port’.
He alleged that no serious dredging of the River Niger had actually been done by the government at the project site.
“What we saw at Bark port confirms people’s belief that Baro Port is far from becoming a reality and may have used it as a campaign bait for the 2019 Presidential election.
” And, we also saw that what exists is not intended for any big ship or vessel but barges of low or medium economic activities. We are calling on the federal government to explain the true intentions of Baro Port to Nigerians,” he said.
Ja’afaru said that if the Port project is completed, it could provide employment opportunities for many youths in the country.
“We are here today, because we believe in the Baro port project and its capacity to employ our teeming unemployed youths in the country. We hope the Niger State Government will key into this effort and join us to amplify it.”
