Blue Economy
Lagos to Host Abuja MoU’s Inaugural Regional Port State Control Capacity-Building Programme
Lagos to Host Abuja MoU’s Inaugural Regional Port State Control Capacity-Building Programme
By Okeoghene Onoriobe | Waterways News
Senior maritime officials and regulatory leaders from across West and Central Africa will gather in Lagos on 29 June 2026 for the inaugural launch of the Abuja Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control (Abuja MoU) Capacity-Building Programme — an event that places Nigeria at the centre of regional efforts to raise maritime governance standards.
The programme, which will be held at the Eko Hotel, Lagos, is organised by the Abuja MoU and supported by Lloyd’s Register Foundation. It is designed to strengthen port state control frameworks, deepen regulatory compliance and improve oversight of vessel operations across member states in the West and Central African sub-region.
Heads of Maritime Administrations, government officials, development partners and industry stakeholders are expected to attend the launch. The event carries particular significance for Nigeria, which holds the vice-chairmanship of the Abuja MoU — a position occupied by the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Hon. Adegboyega Oyetola, who has confirmed his participation.
Secretary General of Abuja MoU, Capt Sunday Umoren
The Abuja MoU’s Chairman, Hon. Ebrima Sillah — who also serves as Gambia’s Minister of Transport, Works and Infrastructure — is also expected to attend, underscoring the high-level political attention the programme has attracted.
Speaking ahead of the event, the Secretary General of the Abuja MoU, Captain Sunday Umoren, said the programme would equip maritime administrations across the region with the knowledge and operational tools required to strengthen vessel oversight, improve alignment with international maritime standards, advance safety and security, and better protect the marine environment.
Following the formal launch, a regional workshop for Directors-General and Chief Executive Officers of Maritime Administrations, as well as Heads of Port State Control, will run from 29 June to 1 July. The workshop will serve as a high-level forum for policy dialogue and technical exchange among the region’s most senior maritime regulatory officials.
Nigeria Watch
For Nigeria’s maritime sector, this event is more than a regional gathering — it is a statement of strategic positioning. As host nation and vice-chair of the Abuja MoU, Nigeria has both the responsibility and the opportunity to drive the agenda on port state control reform across West and Central Africa.
Port state control is the frontline mechanism by which substandard vessels are identified and detained, and the Gulf of Guinea has long been flagged by global shipping bodies as a region requiring more robust enforcement. An inaugural capacity-building programme of this nature — backed by Lloyd’s Register Foundation and drawing in heads of maritime administrations — signals that the Abuja MoU is moving beyond declarations toward institutional action.
For Nigerian stakeholders — from terminal operators and freight forwarders to shipowners operating under the cabotage regime — stronger regional PSC coordination translates into a more predictable regulatory environment and, in time, a reduction in the reputational risk that has historically shadowed the region’s ports. The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) will be watching this programme closely, as its outcomes are likely to shape compliance expectations along Nigeria’s coastline and inland trade corridors in the months ahead.
The choice of Lagos as host city reinforces Nigeria’s role as the sub-region’s dominant maritime hub. Port operators and logistics providers should note the dates: 29 June to 1 July
Sanitation Deficit Poses Silent Threat to Nigeria’s Blue Economy, WTO Founder Warns
By Emetena Ikuku | Waterways News
Sanitation infrastructure has been identified as a critical but chronically neglected pillar of Nigeria’s blue economy ambitions, with the founder of the World Toilet Organisation (WTO), Prof. Jack Sim, warning that untreated waste flowing into the country’s rivers, lagoons and coastal waters could quietly erode the very foundation on which the sector is being built.
Sim, a globally recognised advocate for sanitation access, made the remarks while speaking on the relationship between waste management and the blue economy, stressing that clean and healthy water ecosystems are not incidental to Nigeria’s maritime and aquatic industries — they are their lifeblood.
Without proper sanitation, untreated wastewater and human waste discharged into rivers, lagoons and coastal waters can destroy aquatic habitats, reduce fish populations and threaten the livelihoods of millions who depend on these resources,” he said.
His warning carries particular weight for Nigeria, where coastal and riverine communities remain largely underserved by wastewater treatment infrastructure, and where open defecation and industrial effluents continue to degrade the waterways that support fishing, aquaculture, maritime commerce and tourism.
Sim urged a fundamental reframing of how sanitation investment is categorised in national planning. Toilets, wastewater treatment plants and faecal sludge management systems, he argued, should no longer be viewed merely as social welfare provisions, but as strategic economic infrastructure capable of driving growth, protecting jobs and strengthening food security.
Prof Sim Jack – WTO Founder
The WTO founder noted that pollution from poor sanitation practices poses direct risks to Nigeria’s fisheries and aquaculture sectors — industries that feature prominently in the Federal Government’s blue economy expansion agenda under the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy.
Cleaner waterways, he said, would improve fish stocks, enhance seafood quality and create a more sustainable operating environment for aquatic businesses.
On maritime tourism — a sector that Nigeria’s policymakers have increasingly highlighted as a major revenue frontier — Sim was equally direct, emphasising that clean beaches and waterfronts are non-negotiable prerequisites for attracting visitors and unlocking private investment.
He also pointed to the public health dividend of improved sanitation, noting that reducing the burden of waterborne diseases would yield healthier and more economically productive coastal and riverine communities — populations that are integral to sustaining maritime trade, fishing activity and nearshore enterprise.
Sim sounded the alarm over threats to critical ecosystems, warning that mangroves, wetlands and estuaries — which function as fish breeding grounds, natural coastal defences and climate resilience buffers — face mounting pressure from untreated waste discharges. These ecosystems, he noted, are essential infrastructure for the blue economy even if they rarely appear on any balance sheet.
To safeguard Nigeria’s blue economy trajectory, Sim called on policymakers to deliberately prioritise sanitation in coastal and riverine communities, expand access to safe sanitation facilities, strengthen faecal sludge management systems and scale up investment in wastewater treatment infrastructure to prevent further contamination of rivers and coastal ecosystems.
Nigeria Watch
Prof. Sim’s remarks, though global in framing, land squarely within the fault lines of Nigeria’s blue economy policy landscape. The Federal Government under Minister Adegboyega Oyetola has articulated ambitious goals for the sector — from deep seaport development and fisheries commercialisation to maritime tourism and the harnessing of inland waterways for economic productivity. Yet the sanitation dimension of this agenda remains conspicuously absent from most policy conversations.
Nigeria’s waterways — particularly the Niger Delta creeks, Lagos Lagoon and inland river systems — are under sustained assault from domestic waste, industrial effluents and petroleum-related pollution. The communities most exposed to these conditions are precisely those that the blue economy is supposed to empower: riverine fishing communities, coastal traders and artisanal boat operators.
For regulators such as NIMASA, NIWA and the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, Sim’s intervention offers an important prompt. The blue economy cannot be built on polluted water. Investors in aquaculture, maritime tourism and seafood export markets will assess environmental quality as a prerequisite — and Nigeria’s track record on waterway sanitation is unlikely to inspire confidence without deliberate remediation effort.
The message from the World Toilet Organisation may seem, at first glance, tangential to maritime affairs. But for a country whose coastline spans over 850 kilometres and whose inland waterways stretch more than 10,000 kilometres, proper sanitation infrastructure is not a peripheral concern — it is a core competitiveness issue.
Waterways News | Blue Economy Desk
Tinubu Places Hydrography at Heart of Nigeria’s Maritime Agenda — Matawalle
By Okeoghene Onoriobe, Lagos Correspondent
The Federal Government has signalled a renewed commitment to hydrography as a strategic pillar of Nigeria’s maritime development, with the Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Bello Muhammad Matawalle, declaring that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration has placed the discipline at the centre of the nation’s maritime priorities.
Matawalle made the declaration on Wednesday in Abuja while receiving the Hydrographer of the Federation and Chief Executive Officer of the National Hydrographic Agency (NHA), Rear Admiral O.O. Fadahunsi, who led a management delegation on a courtesy visit to the minister.
Federal Government Reaffirms Support for NHA
In a statement released through his Personal Assistant on Media, Ahmad Dan-Wudil, the minister said the Federal Government remains firmly committed to strengthening Nigeria’s hydrographic infrastructure to support improved marine navigation, defence operations, and ocean-based economic activities.
Matawalle stressed that the National Hydrographic Agency occupies a critical position in Nigeria’s broader maritime ambitions, particularly in the Gulf of Guinea — a zone where overlapping concerns over maritime security and resource governance continue to demand sustained governmental attention.
He noted that hydrographic work underpins the country’s emerging Blue Economy agenda, which seeks to expand maritime trade while ensuring the sustainable exploitation of ocean and riverine resources.
Nigeria Positioned for Regional Leadership
The minister expressed confidence that existing policy frameworks under the Renewed Hope administration have positioned Nigeria to assume a leadership role in hydrography across the West African sub-region. He pledged that government support would be sustained to improve navigational safety, enhance maritime security, and deepen scientific data generation to serve national development objectives.
Rear Admiral Fadahunsi, for his part, commended the minister for what he described as consistent support and visionary leadership. He affirmed the agency’s readiness to work in concert with relevant ministries, departments, and agencies to strengthen intergovernmental coordination and build greater hydrographic resilience. Both parties indicated that the meeting focused on expanding Nigeria’s hydrographic capacity in line with global maritime standards.
Nigeria Watch
For the Nigerian maritime sector, this development carries significant operational implications.
Hydrography — the science of measuring and describing the physical features of navigable waters — is the often-overlooked backbone of safe shipping, port operations, and offshore resource extraction. Without current, accurate hydrographic data, vessels navigating Nigeria’s coastal waters, the Niger Delta creeks, and the nation’s inland waterways do so at elevated risk.
The National Hydrographic Agency, which is mandated to produce and maintain nautical charts covering Nigerian waters, has historically operated with limited visibility in national maritime policy discussions. Its elevation to a stated priority under the Tinubu administration — articulated at the level of the Defence Ministry — signals a more integrated, security-conscious approach to maritime domain awareness.
For port operators, shipping companies, and offshore energy stakeholders, a well-funded and operationally capable NHA translates directly to more reliable navigational data, reduced insurance risk premiums, and safer routing in Nigeria’s busiest sea lanes. For NIMASA and the Nigerian Navy, improved hydrographic coverage strengthens the infrastructure for maritime domain awareness and threat response in the Gulf of Guinea, where Nigeria continues to assert its role as the dominant maritime power.
The blue economy dimension is equally noteworthy. Hydrographic surveys are a prerequisite for viable offshore wind energy development, aquaculture zoning, and the delimitation of maritime boundaries — all areas where Nigeria’s policy ambitions have outpaced technical groundwork. If this stated presidential prioritisation translates into budgetary commitments and institutional capacity-building for the NHA, it could mark a foundational shift in how Nigeria approaches its vast but under-mapped maritime estate.
Stakeholders will be watching to see whether the rhetoric of prioritisation is matched by concrete resource allocation in the next budget cycle.
NIMASA Positions Nigeria as Regional Hub for Digital Seafarer Certification
Agency hosts Gambian officials on four-day knowledge exchange visit
By Okeoghene Onoriobe | Waterways News
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has taken another stride in cementing Nigeria’s status as a reference point for maritime digitalisation in Africa, hosting a delegation from the Gambia Maritime Administration (GMA) on a four-day study visit centred on seafarer certification systems and regulatory best practices.
The visit, which brought together officials from both West African maritime authorities, underscored the deepening of regional cooperation in building secure, efficient and internationally compliant frameworks for seafarer documentation — an area in which Nigeria has recorded measurable progress under the current administration.
Nigeria’s Digital Credentials on Display
Speaking on behalf of NIMASA Director-General, Dr. Dayo Mobereola, the agency’s Executive Director of Operations, Fatai Adeyemi, framed the engagement as both a diplomatic milestone and a validation of Nigeria’s expanding footprint in African maritime governance.
Adeyemi said NIMASA was pleased to share its hard-won experience in digitalising seafarer documentation and certification processes, observing that the Gambia’s decision to study Nigeria’s model reflected growing international recognition of the country’s progress in maritime administration and human capital development.
“There is always something to learn from one another. Such engagements strengthen regional cooperation and help build a more efficient and globally competitive maritime sector across Africa,” Adeyemi said.
He credited the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, headed by Minister Adegboyega Oyetola, with providing the policy direction and institutional support that has driven NIMASA’s digital transformation agenda in recent years.
Scope of the Exchange
During technical sessions held across the visit, officials from both agencies engaged on the issuance of seafarers’ medical certificates, examination procedures, Certificates of Proficiency, and the anti-fraud measures designed to bolster the credibility and international recognition of certification documents.
The sessions were described as practically oriented, with demonstrations of NIMASA’s digital platforms forming a key component of the programme.
Leader of the Gambian delegation, Falu Sey — who serves as Manager of Ship Registry and Seafarers Affairs at the GMA — said Nigeria was specifically selected because of its track record in maritime development, digital transformation and Blue Economy policy implementation. Sey said the insights gained from the visit would directly inform efforts to modernise maritime administration and improve service delivery standards in Gambia.
Nigeria Watch
For Nigeria’s maritime sector, the Gambian study visit carries significance beyond diplomacy. NIMASA’s emergence as a preferred knowledge partner for peer African maritime authorities represents a dividend of the sustained investment in its digital infrastructure — including the modernisation of its seafarer certification and ship registry platforms that has gathered pace under Dr. Mobereola’s leadership.
The visit also arrives at a moment when NIMASA has been projecting Nigeria’s maritime governance credentials on the international stage. Just days ago, the agency signed a landmark ship registry modernisation partnership with Malta’s flag administration on the sidelines of Posidonia 2026 in Athens — another signal that Nigeria is actively positioning itself within the architecture of global maritime compliance and administration.
For Nigerian maritime stakeholders — from shipowners and crewing agencies to port operators and freight forwarders — the broader implication is that a more regionally authoritative NIMASA translates into stronger bilateral frameworks, more harmonised certification standards across West Africa, and potentially smoother crew documentation processes for Nigerian seafarers operating across the sub-region.
The question the sector will be watching is whether these gains in soft power and institutional diplomacy are matched by continued investment in NIMASA’s domestic infrastructure, including the resolution of longstanding concerns around turnaround times for seafarer documentation at home.
Waterways News | waterwaysnews.ng | Covering Nigeria’s Maritime, Ports, Shipping and Blue Economy
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