The management of National Inland Waterways Authority has given assurance that the Lokoja River Port would soon be completed and operational to generate revenue for the Federal Government, saying this would take care of smooth water transportation on River Niger and Benue.
George Moghalu, managing director/chief executive officer of NIWA, gave the assurance at the 2021 end of the year get together organised for NIWA staff in Lokoja, adding that the issue of variation that stalled the completion of the all-important project has been taken care of by President Muhammadu Buhari, pointing out that the contractor has been mobilised back to site for the completion of the project.
He said: “What stalled the completion of the port was an issue of variation but fortunately the President in his usual magnanimity has reviewed and varied the contract and
the contractor is back to site to complete the project.
“It is important that whenever government starts a project and investment are made especially on a project like Lokoja River Port that has reached 40 percent completion, it should be completed so that the capital investment can be recouped instead of outright abandonment.”
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Moghalu equally promised that under his leadership he would leave NIWA better than he met it, as he charged the staff to do same in ensuring best practices, as according to him, “To whom much is given, much is expected of him.”
He also disclosed that efforts were on top gear for more robust salary incentives for the organisation in 2022 and charged them to redouble their effort in revenue generation to justify government gestures.
In his welcome address earlier, the General Manager Legal Services, Danladi Ibrahim, commended the staff of the organisation for their collective efforts that led to the achievements recorded in 2021 and urged them to do more in 2022 to justify the new remuneration.
