Akeredolu visits Buhari, wants deep seaport in Ondo

Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, on Tuesday, called on the Federal Government to take advantage of the natural resources in the state by establishing deep seaport in Ondo.
Akeredolu made the call when he fielded questions from State House correspondents after a closed door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari in the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Akeredolu, who was accompanied to the meeting by the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, said: “We are asking that the country takes advantage of the natural resources in Ondo State and we have a seaport that is very germane to our export activities in particular, our mineral deposits which we have in large number and then we need to have a deep sea manning port and Ondo State is well suited for it.
“So, we impressed this on Mr. President on what we believe will be a lasting legacy if we are able to accomplish it in his own time”.
Akeredolu said that the seaport, if operational, would cater for the volume of mineral resources meant for export across the country.
He said: “No, you just look at the volume of natural resources that we are exporting through any port in Nigeria.
“The total volume which is still not so high, the moment it gets high we will need a deep seaport where we will even have a modern ship berth.
“We do not have anywhere in this country today where big ship can berth, not in Lagos or Calabar.
“That is why what you see is that so many of the ships will berth in the high sea while the smaller ones will be used to take the goods there or bring the goods from the ship. And that is why we need a deep seaport where the biggest ship in the world can berth and that is Ondo State.’’