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From Idu Jude, Abuja
The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, has reaffirmed the government’s resolve to establish a National Policy on Marine and Blue Economy to drive the sector’s pivotal role in the country’s economy.
The Minister, who made this known on Tuesday in Abuja while delivering a sectorial achievements report to mark the one-year anniversary of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, noted that this has become a core objective of the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy (FMMBE).
He said part of the objective is to create a dynamic national policy framework aimed at fostering the enabling environment required for the sector to thrive.
In this regard, he said the Ministry has engaged all subsector stakeholders, experts, academia, and research institutions in assessing the current state of the sector.
“Key policy thrusts and goals have been defined, and a comprehensive four-year Key Results Framework and Implementation Plan to guide the Ministry and its Agencies has been developed. A robust process for the finalization and validation of the policy is ongoing. The national policy on marine and blue economy will be concluded in December 2024.”
The minister also posited that improved revenue earnings are a key measure of success for the Ministry to increase the contribution of the marine and blue economy to the national GDP while generating revenue for the government for the important task of national economic development.
“To achieve this, we are currently implementing a 3-point strategy that is focused on blocking revenue leakages, enhancing revenue generation from established sources, and identifying and rolling out new blue economy revenue sources.”
He maintained that the Ministry has achieved a ramp-up of revenue to the government in the last year and is poised to do more.
Oyetola further informed that a comparison of Quarter 1 2023 against Quarter 1 2024 revenue performance across the agencies reveals a 92% increase.
According to him, the increase in revenue performance has largely been due to a 10% increase in the number of vessels calling Nigerian ports due to strategic investments in port infrastructure in the last year, including mooring boats, patrol vessels, and dredging of the port’s channels. Also, he said the ministry has also tightened revenue assurance by deploying technology to aid operations.
“This is because revenue generation is critical to us. In this regard, we have commenced the rollout of the following initiatives among others, which are the commissioning of revenue enhancement studies focused on the Ministry, its departments, and agencies. The objective is to further identify and block leakages while identifying recommendations to expand current revenue sources.
“Automation of revenue collection processes to eliminate bottlenecks and enhance transparency and accountability. Deploying revenue assurance technologies to ensure accurate and complete billings in line with established contracts and services rendered.
“Ensuring the efficient utilization of existing assets through concessions to the private sector and public-private partnerships as required. Investment promotion campaigns targeting both domestic and international investors for investments in the marine and blue economy sub-sectors.”
Port infrastructure and connectivity were counted as some of the key achievements of the Ministry within the past year, including promoting the development of inland dry ports in strategic locations across the country, for a combined capacity of 165,000 TEUs.
The inland dry ports, he said, will help to decongest Nigerian seaports, deliver a net decrease in transportation costs and environmental challenges, and promote overall improvement in public safety through reduced road accidents.
To this effect, the ministry has finalized the Funtua Inland Dry Port, which was commissioned on May 9, 2024. “This will improve the ease of doing business and increase our share of the Sahel trade.
On the seaport infrastructure upgrade, the Minister said that funds have been sourced for the comprehensive modernization and reconstruction of Tin Can Island and Apapa Port Complex, and discussions are ongoing for sourcing funds for the rehabilitation of Onne, Rivers, Delta, and Calabar port complexes. He also made known government efforts on port modernization projects which are expected to generate at least 20,000 jobs, decongest the ports, and improve the ease of doing business.
“Alongside the port rehabilitation project, we are also modernizing port equipment as we strategically position to reclaim our spot as the maritime hub for West Africa. For example, we recently acquired the first-of-its-kind in Africa marine crafts such as the recently commissioned two units of Azimuth Stern Drive (ASD) 8213 model 80 Ton Bollard Pull Tugboats to enable the berthing of very large vessels of 300 meters LOA (length overall) and above.”
Oyetola again said that the recurrent dredging of the channel to the various ports and terminals has continued. This, he said, has allowed bigger vessels such as MSC Maureen to dock, and going forward, improve cargo throughput and share of the West Africa maritime trade.
While seeking access and connectivity to Ports, collaborations with FMW and FMT have yielded the rehabilitation of access roads and connection ports to the rail network respectively to reduce congestion and transit times.
The ministry commends the great initiative of Mr. President on the project, such as the superhighway set to boost blue tourism and facilitate private sector investments in the development of beach resorts, marine transportation, and water sports, with the emphasis that the project will create thousands of jobs and open up new economic opportunities in the coastal states.
Meanwhile, the minister has said that the ministry, on the order of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2023, realized from the onset that, apart from the modernization and rehabilitation of our ports, fishing is one sure way to create more jobs and reduce poverty through the value chains.
“To this end, we have reached an understanding with an indigenous Delta Systematics Group, for enhanced fish production that would position Nigeria as a global leader in fisheries. We shall soon be signing an MOU to drive home the initiative.
“The initiative is divided into short-term, medium-term, and long-term programs, with each of the programs having specific goals within a structured timeline. The short-term program has the innovative GIFT Tilapia program, which is expected to produce over 3 billion fingerlings to adult fish within four years, generate thousands of jobs across related sectors, and contribute significantly to Nigeria’s GDP.
“In the medium- and long terms, the focus would be to address the crucial challenges of insufficient fish meal production for feed and enhance artisanal fisheries. Also, the strategic exploitation of Nigeria’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is anticipated to produce significantly high trawling and sea farming export-oriented revenues. This would no doubt further secure Nigeria’s position as a formidable player in the global fisheries and aquaculture market.
“I can tell you that we are in the last stage of concluding the fisheries policy with the support of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the World Fish Institute (Malaysia). We are currently working to reestablish our fish harbours and terminals through a PPP arrangement. On the sideline of the 9th Ocean Conference held in Greece, we engaged state officials and the private sector (Consolidated Contractors Company and Etterna Ship Management S.A) in discussions to invest $70m in fish harbour development. This will improve the value chain of our fish production,” he said.
