Tony John,  Port Harcourt

The Assistant Inspector-General of Police,  AIG Abdulmajid Ali,  has said Federal Government is determined to revamp the moribund Eastern ports and decongest the Lagos State sea ports. 

AIG Abdulmajid Ali, who is the  first officer  to head  the Eastern Ports, comprising Cross River,  Delta and Rivers State,  stated this yesterday,  during his maiden press  briefing  at the  command’s headquarters,  in Nigerian Ports  Authority (NPA), Port Harcourt.

He said the aim of his posting by the Inspector  General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, is  to beef up security and minimize piracy, human trafficking and illicit goods, terrorist attack on port facilities and port users.

The AIG  noted that a lot of revenue have  been wasted and lost as a result of insecurity and illegal bunkering that happen within the port area in Port Harcourt, adding that tackling the challenges would enhance economic activities in the ports .

He said that,  in order to flush out the challenges of insecurity in the ports under his command, he “intends to harness available human and material resources to achieve results through intelligence and community policing as espoused by the Police High Command led by IGP Ibrahim Idris.

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“We will continue to synergise with other sister agencies to see how we can stem out these criminal activities not only in the ports, but in all the waterways. I intend going round to visit some of the traditional rulers at the communities by the waterside and some communities where these bunkery do take place.

We will talk to the youths and see how they can assist the security agents and the government, because a lot of revenue are being lost through these activities.

“We will continue to synergise with other sister agencies to see how we can stem out these criminal activities, not only in the ports, but in all the waterways.

“Most of the kidnapping of foreign machinery within the ports have created a lot of insecurity in which some of these ship owners are afraid in the Eastern area. And for us to ensure that this port takes off fully, we just have to put our foot on ground to provide adequate security to the crew in the ships and other port users.

“We will be all out and will never succumb to criminal blackmail. We will make sure that we provide adequate security and ensure that the activities of the port will take off in earnest. We will start to bring back development and economic activities to the area of Rivers State, as well as Nigeria at large”, AIG Ali declared.

He commended the IGP for his  effort in tackling  criminality in the nation’s sea ports, in order to boast the economy of the country.

“The Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, in his efforts to combat crime and criminality in the maritime domain and promote the ease of doing business at the sea ports, recently, upgraded the Eastern ports to be at par with the zonal structure of the Force and posted me as the first Assistant Inspector General of Police to head the Command”, he noted.