…says it’s a poverty breaker that will redefine Nigeria’s maritime economy
By Onwa Ekor
President Bola Tinubu has described the Bakassi Deep Seaport as a defining milestone in Nigeria’s economic diversification drive and a strategic national investment.
Tinubu, represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, spoke at the groundbreaking ceremony in Bakassi local government area of Cross River on Friday.
He said the port would open new commercial corridors, drive industrialisation and create jobs, while commending Governor Bassey Otu and Cross River people for sustaining the vision.
Conceived in 2014, with its Environmental and Social Impact Assessment done in March 2015, the project received renewed impetus under Otu.
Designed as a 20-metre-draft facility, it will accommodate large vessels that currently bypass Nigerian ports.
It is linked to a 260-kilometre superhighway to move cargo across the country.
Tinubu credited Otu’s determination for overcoming institutional and financial hurdles, including securing a $3.5 billion Afreximbank financing arrangement and formalising the PPP framework in February 2025.
“This is beyond a Cross River dream. It is a Nigerian project. It is a poverty breaker,” the President declared.
He said the port will complement, not compete with Lagos.
“Lagos is not our enemy. Lagos is our elder brother in trade. No country eats with one hand. No country carries all its loads on one shoulder. That shoulder will break,” he said.
Over 80 per cent of Nigeria’s foreign trade, he noted, passes through Lagos, causing congestion and high costs.
A second major gateway, he argued, will strengthen the economy: “When Calabar works, Nigeria works on two legs.”
Tinubu said Nigeria has not fully exploited its Gulf of Guinea coastline, allowing neighbours to benefit from trade that should come to Nigeria. The port will help retain regional cargo and boost competitiveness.
He noted that 90 per cent of cargo moves by sea, yet Nigeria handles only a fraction of regional trade despite its weight in West Africa.
The President acknowledged Cross River’s losses from the Bakassi ruling and loss of oil revenue, but said they have not diminished the people’s resilience.
“The peninsula was not the end of your story, but the beginning of your next chapter,” he said, urging residents to protect the project from political interference.
Governor Otu hailed the groundbreaking and credited Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda for reviving the project after years of political, legal and environmental hurdles.
He said the state has completed preparatory works, including EIA, hydrographic, geotechnical and geophysical surveys, and secured federal approvals.
The project will be delivered via PPP with initial funding of $2.27 billion.
Otu said logistics, trade, fishing, shipping, tourism and shipbuilding will benefit, positioning Cross River as a Gulf of Guinea hub.
He added that surveys exposed flaws in the 1903 navigational charts, which the Federal Government replaced on October 1, 2026, affirming the state’s littoral status.
He disclosed that selected Cross Riverians are undergoing specialised training for construction and operational roles.
He cited the state’s three-way economic corridor – the airport, seaport and Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway – to facilitate cargo movement and attract investors.
Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr Gboyega Oyetola, praised Tinubu for unlocking Nigeria’s maritime potential, citing creation of the Ministry in 2023 and approval of the first National Policy on Marine and Blue Economy.
He said revenue under the Ministry rose from N700.79 billion in 2023 to N1.83 trillion in 2025, due to improved assurance and blocked leakages.
Oyetola listed other gains: elimination of piracy in Nigerian waters, approval for modernisation of six legacy ports, stronger governance via the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Act, Nigeria’s return to the IMO Council after nearly two decades, lifting of US Coast Guard restrictions in August 2026, release of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund, and growth in fish production from 1.1m to 1.4m tonnes.
He said Bakassi will improve market access, create industrial and job opportunities, and its integration with the coastal highway will extend benefits across Cross River, the South-South and Nigeria.
Oyetola pledged the Ministry’s support for a modern, efficient and environmentally sustainable port.
