Igbo Leaders Urge Tinubu To Reopen Eastern Ports, end Decades-long Economic Blockade

Igbo leaders, under the Igbo Unification Movement and the ‘Ndi Na Asu Bia’ Socio-Cultural Organisation, have called on President Bola Tinubu to lift what they described as an economic blockade that has kept major eastern ports inactive for nearly six decades.

In a communiqué issued after a two-day conference in Okpanam, near Asaba, Delta State, and signed by the group’s President, Chief Kingsley Onyenwemmadu Kainebi, Secretary/Legal Adviser, Ofochi Benjamin Atagana, and LOC Chairman, Chief Cosmas Chikeobi Agada, the leaders urged the federal government to dredge, modernise, and reopen the Port Harcourt, Bonny, and Opobo ports.

They argued that restoring the ports would unlock development in the South-East, with ripple effects across the Middle Belt and even up to Lake Chad.

The communiqué also stressed the need for unity among the Igbo and demanded a fairer share of federal projects and infrastructure in the region. The leaders declared support for the creation of Anioma State, describing it as an issue of equity and justice for Igbo-speaking communities.

They criticised what they termed “entities and circles” that contribute to Igbo disunity and land-locking, while noting that the mutual intelligibility of Igbo dialects strengthens cohesion within the group.

The leaders further commended Senator Ned Nwoko for his persistent push for the creation of Anioma State.

On security, the communiqué acknowledged what it called gradual improvements under Tinubu’s administration but maintained that more concrete steps were still required to protect lives and property in the country.