Nigeria Former Director-General of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Earl Osaro Onaiwu, has called on prominent south-south sons currently serving in President Bola Tinubu’s administration to use their influence to revive the long abandoned Warri and Port Harcourt ports, which once served as vital arteries for economic activity in southern Nigeria.

In a strong worded statement issued in Abuja, Earl Onaiwu appealed to Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, Minister of Niger Delta Development, Abubakar Momoh, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri and Senator Oluremi Tinubu, First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and indigene of Delta State to stop paying lip service to the region and begin to deliver meaningful infrastructure that reflects their positions in the government. In a statement released in Abuja, Onaiwu directly addressed:

“These men are sons and daughter of the soil. They know the pains of our people. The Warri and Port Harcourt ports, if revitalized, will create jobs, attract investments, reduce pressure on Lagos ports, and restore dignity to the Niger Delta,” Onaiwu said.

He emphasized that the reopening and modernization of these ports would not only decentralize the nation’s maritime economy but also address the marginalization that the Niger Delta has suffered for decades.

“You cannot be in power and your region remains stagnant. Influence must not only be used for political survival it must be used to transform lives,” Onaiwu added.

He urged the Tinubu led administration to prioritize the ports in its infrastructural agenda, especially with sons of the region in key strategic positions that can make it happen.

“This is the time for collective action. History is watching.”