The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, said this on Tuesday in Lagos, during the stakeholder’s roundtable on advancing sustainable development in Nigeria’s marine and blue economy.
“The ministry’s decision to consider the re-establishment of a national shipping line through a strategic PPP arrangement is borne out of our desire to capture a substantial share of the estimated $10bn annual ship charter market within the country.
“Let me hasten to say that this initiative will not seek to impede the growth of local players but rather to provide an avenue for them to create and extract more value from the sector, especially through ship construction, maintenance, and repairs. This would enable our local businesses to better leverage the Cabotage Act, which gives Nigerians the exclusive right to control locally generated seaborne trade,” Oyetola added.
He said that the Federal Government was determined to re-establish the national shipping line through a public-private partnership.
The minister explained that the roundtable engagement was convened to bring together players in the sector to discuss and chart a roadmap.
“And directions that will advance the industry’s potential, promote sustainable Blue Economy investments, and ensure global competitiveness within the sector.
a jewel in Africa. With its expansive coastline stretching over 853 kilometres along the Atlantic Ocean and a network of potentially navigable waterways covering 10,000 km across 28 of its 36 states, Nigeria’s Marine and Blue Economy stands as a pivotal sector to fostering sustainable economic growth of the nation,” Oyetola stated.
According to the former Osun State governor, engagement is crucial to the development of the sector as it offers an opportunity for stakeholders to collectively contribute ideas and offer relevant inputs that can propel the sector to success.
“To actualise these priorities, our ministry has also moved a step further by putting up this roundtable so that we can harvest ideas that would form part of our roadmap and policy direction. This is why today we will be looking at such areas like strengthening the blue governance, transforming port operations, enhancing port infrastructure, and promoting blue economy investments,” he noted.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Transportation/Marine and Blue Economy, Dr Magdalene Ajani, said it was time to develop the much-needed synergy between the private and public players in the maritime sector.
She said the sector was a major source of revenue, an enabler of trade and a key engine of economic growth and sustainable development.
According to Ajani, the country is blessed with many aquatic resources and some of the best exclusive economic zones, making it a natural hub for shipping and international trade for most landlocked neighbouring nations in the Western and Central African regions.
She said the stakeholder engagement roundtable was necessary as it enabled the ministry to present challenges and jointly brainstorm on solutions to chart a roadmap for a maritime industry that would be sustainable, technologically advanced, and innovative.
