By Hauwa Ali
Chairman of the Apapa LGA of the State, Mrs. Idowu Senbanjo has called on the government, maritime agencies and private organisations in the shipping Industry to assist in providing job placement for the youths of Nigeria’s largest port community, Apapa.
Senbanjo made the call at Port Users Conference, organised by the Maritime Anti Corruption Network (MACN) and Convention for Business Integrity (CBI), on Wednesday in Lagos.
She expressed disappointment on how shabbily the Apapa host community looks despite huge revenue generation from the port city in Lagos state
According to her, billions of naira are being collected by the federal and state governments without any benefits to the immediate host community as youth unemployment is high in the region.
” The capacity of what I have is not enough, Apapa is bleeding , we are not getting anything , we need help.”
According to her, Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of Apapa has dropped to 20 percent which is too much for her to bear.
She adviced that multinationals and federal government agencies within the community must play major roles of engaging the youths through direct and indirect job placement.
“Every second my IGR continues to drop because people are leaving the communities. The economy of Apapa is down to 20 percent and it is that bad.
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“If the government did not get up and do something about the reforms we have been talking about in the maritime industry then the host community cannot benefit in anyway.” She said.
“For us in Apapa, revenue is an issue, unemployment is an issue.
“Millions and billions of money pass through my Local Government and none of this money is coming to the Apapa Local Government”, she lamented.
Specifically, she stated that even from the proceeds of the Nigerian Ports Authority electronic call-up system, popularly called ‘eto’, the Local Government does not receive anything.
“Look at ShopRite, the same thing with the Amusement park where you can take your children.
“They have spent a huge amount of money to build up the place, but who is that parent that will say take my children to Apapa amusement park when the reality is that they are going to spend five hours on the road?
“The miscreants you are seeing on the road, yes today, the money they are collecting on the road is more than what any employer is going to pay them.
“So, most of them are not ready to work.
“They have seen and tasted the kind of money that they are making on the road.
“Even they themselves will frustrate whatever it is that the government wants to do but if we have strict policies, people will fall in line eventually”, she noted.
She further commended the Lagos State government for the timely intervention towards ensuring free flow traffic but lamented that traffic has led to people relocating out of Apapa.
Asked about the specific number of unemployed youths in Apapa, Senbanjo maintained that “I can’t give you a specific data or figure on that but it is very high.
