… as Oyetola promises a better
The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, on Tuesday engaged stakeholders on a round table meeting geared towards charting a collaborative roadmap that would transform and better the industry.
The Minister at the meeting held in the Intercontinental Hotel, Lagos, declared that the ministry was set to embrace the Public Private Partnership (PPP) models to transform the sector.
While promising to support the indigenous ship owners, Oyetola stressed that the PPP initiative will not in anyway impede the growth of local players but rather provide an avenue for them to create and extract more value from the sector.
The round table engagement themed ‘Advancing Sustainable Development in Nigeria’s Marine and Blue Economy sector, according to the minister was an avenue for players in the sector to brainstorm on advancing the industry’s potential, promote sustainable blue economy investments as well as ensure global competitiveness within the sector.
He said the model would be a collaboration between the private sector’s efficiency and the public sector’s oversight and would result in a transformative impact on the Industry as well as boost the creation of substantial job opportunities and the facilitation of increased trade and investment in the nation, reinforcing the ministry’s collaborative and forward-looking approach.
Some areas of discussion at the Roundtable bothered on strengthening the Blue Governance; Transforming Port Operations; Enhancing Port Infrastructure; and Promoting Blue Economy Investments.
Oyetola said: “There is an urgent need for a collaborative effort to brainstorm and devise strategies to leverage our marine resources for the betterment of the economy and safety of our planet.
“It is imperative we come up with practicable ways of ensuring that our inland rivers, lakes and waterways are well utilised for cargo shipment and passenger transportation.
“This engagement forum is crucial to the development of the sector as it offers an opportunity for us all to collectively contribute our perspectives, ideas and offer relevant inputs that can propel the sector to the trajectory of success necessary to support the development of the economy as well as meet the expectations of Mr. President who took the courage to open up Nigeria to focus on the blue economy value chain.
“The zeal for a better life for Nigerians propelled President Bola Tinubu, to recently unveil eight Presidential priorities to address critical national challenges. These priorities are to be delivered through eight focus areas, namely: economic growth, food security, energy and natural resources, infrastructure development, security, healthcare, education, improved governance, and job creation.
“Our Ministry though new, is not resting on its oars and has continued to foster Inter-agency collaborations and implement initiatives to promote port efficiency, cargo shipment, maritime security and tap into the resources of the seabed.
“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 $10 billion annual ship charter market within the country.
“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.
“Other anticipated outcomes include the creation of substantial job opportunities and the facilitation of increased trade and investment in the nation, reinforcing our collaborative and forward-looking approach.”
The Minister said the stakeholders engagement will be a continuum, also assuring of his commitment to “bequeathing to Nigerians a better sector than what we have met today, saying he was aware of the challenges in the sector.