Blue Economy
Oyetola Rallies States, Private Sector to Unlock Nigeria’s Marine and Blue Economy Potential
By Okeoghene Onoriobe | Waterways News
Oyetola Rallies States, Private Sector to Unlock Nigeria’s Marine and Blue Economy Potential
The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr Adegboyega Oyetola, has called on state governments, private investors and development partners to deepen collaboration with the Federal Government to speed up execution of Nigeria’s National Policy on Marine and Blue Economy, insisting that sub-national buy-in is essential to unlocking the sector’s full economic value.
Oyetola spoke on Thursday in Lagos at the Second Quarter 2026 Citizens’ and Stakeholders’ Engagement of the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, held at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island. The event, themed “From Policy to Action: Mobilising Sub-National Governments for Effective Implementation of Nigeria’s National Policy on Marine and Blue Economy,” drew government officials, diplomats, development partners, industry players, academics and state government representatives.
The minister said Nigeria has moved past the policy-formulation stage and must now concentrate on execution that yields measurable economic returns. He noted that many of the country’s blue economy assets, oceans, inland waterways, fisheries and coastal resources, sit within states and communities, making sub-national governments critical partners in driving investment, job creation, food security and environmental sustainability.
Oyetola credited reforms under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda with boosting stakeholder engagement, investment inflows, maritime safety and port competitiveness. He pointed to the World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence’s 2025 Container Port Performance Index, which placed Tin Can Island Port as the tenth most-improved port globally and Lagos Port Complex, Apapa, as the twelfth most-improved between 2020 and 2025. Ongoing port modernisation and planned new deep seaports in Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Lagos and Ondo states, he added, would further cement Nigeria’s status as West Africa’s preferred maritime hub.
He also linked improved port operations to Nigeria’s consistent national trade surplus since 2024. On waterway safety, Oyetola said the ministry has stepped up cooperation with relevant agencies and states, distributed life jackets nationwide, and is pressing states to phase out unsafe wooden passenger boats in favour of modern fibre vessels. He urged coastal states to align their development plans with the national policy and to attract private investment into fisheries, aquaculture, maritime transport, tourism, shipbuilding, renewable energy and marine biotechnology.
Delivering the keynote, Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri commended President Tinubu for creating the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, calling it a strategic move to diversify the national economy. Bayelsa followed with its own state-level ministry in June 2024 to anchor the blue economy component of its ASSURED Prosperity Agenda. Diri said the state has begun major fish production at the Bayelsa Aquaculture Village in Yenegwe, where a functioning hatchery is breeding catfish fingerlings and juveniles, expanded its marine transport fleet, and is pushing ahead with the proposed Agge Deep Seaport as a new maritime gateway for the Niger Delta.
The governor outlined five pathways for coastal states to capture blue economy opportunities: setting up dedicated marine and blue economy ministries, passing enabling legislation, mapping and securing their maritime domains, investing in credible data systems, and building skills, markets, innovation hubs and logistics infrastructure.
Presenting on private sector investment, Aliko Dangote, represented by Dangote Port Operations Managing Director Simeon Akin Omole, said the policy’s success hinges on sustained private participation. He noted its targets of three million jobs within four years, seven per cent annual sectoral growth, and at least 50 per cent of new jobs reserved for youths aged 18 to 35. Industrial transformation, he said, requires policy consistency, quality infrastructure, financing access and investor confidence, resting on three pillars: infrastructure-led industrialization, value-chain development and stronger public-private partnerships.
He said federal approvals for new deep seaports would spur industrial clusters spanning agro-processing, petrochemicals, shipbuilding, cold-chain logistics and maritime technology. On fisheries, Dangote noted that Nigeria still spends close to a billion dollars annually on fish imports despite rising local output, and argued that investment across the value chain, aquaculture, hatcheries, feed production, processing, cold-chain and export infrastructure, could cut imports, save foreign exchange, generate over 500,000 jobs and position Nigeria as a fisheries export leader. He called for public-private partnerships that go beyond financing to become strategic collaborations involving government, investors, researchers and coastal communities.
Goodwill messages came from Akwa Ibom Deputy Governor Akon Eyakenyi, chairman of Senate Committee on Marine Transport Wasiu Sanni Eshinlokun, representatives of the Ondo and Borno state governors, and private sector operators, all pledging support for the policy’s implementation.
Nigeria Watch
The minister’s push for sub-national ownership speaks to a structural gap that has long shadowed Nigeria’s blue economy ambitions: a national policy is only as strong as the states willing to enforce and fund it locally. Bayelsa’s example, a dedicated state ministry, an operating aquaculture hatchery, and active pursuit of the Agge Deep Seaport, offers a template other coastal states, including Lagos, Ondo, Cross River and Akwa Ibom, could replicate rather than waiting on federal capital alone.
For NIWA and LASWA, Oyetola’s renewed call to replace wooden boats with fibre vessels reinforces a safety conversation that has dominated inland waterway coverage this year, particularly given recurring capsizing incidents. The gap remains implementation and financing, the kind of gap operators have long argued the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund could help close if disbursement moves faster.
Dangote’s fisheries import figures are also worth flagging for the Nigerian Shippers’ Council and port community: nearly a billion dollars a year leaving the country for fish imports is a logistics and cold-chain infrastructure story as much as an agricultural one, with direct implications for port-adjacent cold storage investment at Apapa, Tin Can and the emerging deep seaports.
Blue Economy
Oyetola Takes Nigeria’s Case on Gulf of Guinea Security and Seafarer Welfare to IMO Council in London
Oyetola Takes Nigeria’s Case on Gulf of Guinea Security and Seafarer Welfare to IMO Council in London
Minister says seafarers must not become casualties of geopolitical disputes as Nigeria presses for stronger technical support for developing maritime nations
By Ighoyota Onaibre | Waterways News
Nigeria’s Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr. Adegboyega Oyetola, has restated the country’s commitment to safe, secure and sustainable international shipping. He is leading a high-level delegation to the 138th session of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Council in London.
The five-day session opened on November 2 at the IMO headquarters and ends today, November 6, 2026. Nigeria’s participation is meant to strengthen its voice in global maritime governance and to advance the interests of developing maritime nations.
Nigeria sits on the 40-member Council under Category C. The session is considering the protection of vital shipping routes, the welfare and safety of seafarers, institutional governance and the sustainability of the global maritime industry.
Protecting vital shipping lanes
A central issue is the protection of strategic shipping routes against growing security threats and attacks on commercial vessels in high-risk zones. Under Agenda Item 11, “Protection of Vital Shipping Lanes,” Nigeria is expected to draw on its experience combating piracy and maritime crime in the Gulf of Guinea to push for stronger international cooperation and coordinated security responses.
“Nigeria recognises that the challenges confronting the global maritime industry require collective action, stronger international cooperation and effective regulatory frameworks,” Oyetola said. He added that Nigeria was at the Council to see its interests represented and to contribute to solutions that strengthen maritime security, protect seafarers and promote sustainable shipping.
He said the progress made in the Gulf of Guinea showed that maritime insecurity can be tackled “through political commitment, effective coordination and cooperation among regional and international partners.”
Seafarer welfare
Seafarer welfare is also high on the agenda. This follows IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez’s condemnation of the use of seafarers as pawns in geopolitical disputes. Nigeria is backing measures to prevent the arbitrary detention and abandonment of seafarers, and to ensure their fair treatment, safe repatriation and mental well-being.
“Seafarers are the lifeblood of international shipping,” Oyetola said. “Their safety, dignity and welfare must never be compromised by geopolitical tensions.”
Budget and capacity building
The Council is also reviewing financial allocations for the 2026–2027 biennium and strategic priorities for 2028–2029. Nigeria sees this as an opening to push for more technical cooperation and capacity-building support for developing maritime countries.
Oyetola said developing maritime nations “must have access to the technical expertise, institutional support and investment opportunities required to participate meaningfully in the evolving global shipping industry.”
The delegation
The minister is accompanied by:
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, Mrs. Fatima Mahmood
The Director-General of NIMASA, Dr. Dayo Mobereola
The Director of Maritime Services, Mr. Oyinloye Meshack
Nigeria’s Alternate Permanent Representative at the IMO, Mr. William Bwala
Nigeria Watch
A heavy session. The Council has dealt with more than Nigeria’s agenda this week. Other delegations have also pressed seafarer protection and freedom of navigation, with Liberia and Indonesia among the countries that raised them. The session has also given attention to security in the Strait of Hormuz and the Black Sea. On Wednesday, the Council recommended a second four-year term for Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez, running from 2028 to 2031. The IMO Assembly must still approve it in 2027. Nigeria’s message on the Gulf of Guinea has been delivered in a crowded room.
Hormuz is a Nigerian issue. This newsroom has followed the Strait of Hormuz crisis closely, from rising freight rates to war-risk insurance premiums at Nigerian ports. Oyetola’s call to shield seafarers from geopolitical tension is not abstract. Dominguez has said thousands of seafarers in the region live and work under heightened risk, and the IMO’s tally of seafarers killed in the region since February stood at 24 as of November 5.
Where the Gulf of Guinea story stands. Nigeria is presenting its Gulf of Guinea record as a model, and the Deep Blue Project is the backbone of that claim. NIMASA has just showcased upgraded assets at AFRIDEX 2026. Delegates in London will weigh the narrative against what stakeholders at home actually experience on the water.
The home test. Nigeria’s arguments at the IMO for seafarer dignity, fair treatment and capacity-building support will carry weight in proportion to how well they are matched at home.
Questions that Waterways News continues to raise:
Do Nigerian seafarers and inland waterway workers enjoy the safety and welfare standards the minister is championing abroad?
Will the technical cooperation Nigeria is seeking reach small-scale and informal waterway operators, such as those under WABOTAN and ATBOWATON, or stay at the policy level?
With Nigeria holding a Council seat, how will diplomatic wins in London be turned into delivery at home, from CVFF disbursement to NPERA implementation?
Waterways News will keep tracking the outcome of the 138th Council session and what it means for Nigerian maritime stakeholders.
Blue Economy
NIWA Deploys Enforcers to Niger Waterfronts as Boat Operators Cry Out Over Life Jacket Shortage
NIWA Deploys Enforcers to Niger Waterfronts as Boat Operators Cry Out Over Life Jacket Shortage
Operators say a 300-seater has only seven jackets, and ask for prices to drop from N20,000 to as low as N5,000
By Raymond Gold | Waterways News
The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has sent enforcement personnel to waterfronts across Niger State to make life jacket use compulsory and ensure compliance with inland waterways safety rules.
NIWA’s Minna Area Manager, Akapo Adeboye, announced this at the 2026 Sensitisation and Enlightenment Campaign on Inland Waterways Regulations at Zumba Waterfront, Shiroro Local Government Area. The campaign theme was “Total Safety Measures and Compliance on the Nation’s Inland Waterways.”
Adeboye said NIWA has given 3,500 life jackets to boat operators at waterfronts across the state. He was troubled, however, that some operators neither wear the jackets nor provide them for passengers during trips.
He also condemned operators who charge passengers extra to use a life jacket, saying this discourages compliance. He said the safety of lives and property remains a priority of the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, and that operators and passengers alike must wear life jackets before boarding. Violators, he warned, will face the full weight of the law.
Some operators at the event said scarcity and cost make full compliance impossible.
Adamu Gunduma said his boat carries 300 passengers but he has seven life jackets, one of them for himself. The other six go to passengers on a first-come, first-served basis.
Adamu Tanko said his 150-passenger boat has three life jackets.
Saidu Sani said his 40-passenger boat has none, for himself or his passengers.
Abubakar Mamman-Kwanu appealed to government and other stakeholders for more jackets through donations and support programmes.
The operators said a life jacket costs about N20,000 on the market and asked authorities to bring the price down to between N5,000 and N6,000. They added that high prices and falling farm-produce prices could keep many farmers from buying one. Farmers, they said, make up a large share of water transport users in the area. They called for stronger government intervention, arguing that easier access to life jackets would improve compliance and prevent avoidable deaths.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) first reported the development on Monday.
Nigeria Watch
Enforcement is arriving before supply. Gunduma, Tanko and Sani together operate boats licensed for 490 passengers, yet they reported 10 life jackets between them. Telling such operators to refuse boarding without a jacket is, for now, an order they cannot obey. Cheap jackets must reach waterfronts before penalties are enforced, or enforcement will fall hardest on the poorest operators.
NIWA has also faced a misuse problem. Adeboye said in an earlier interview that people sell the jackets, use them as pillows or farm tools. He said that when his team revisited a waterfront after a 3,500-jacket flag-off, they could not find one in use. Both complaints can be true at once, and the way out is a mix of local ownership, fitting by boat capacity and visible checks by marshals.
The stakes are real and well documented. After a July 2025 mishap at Zumba, Adeboye said 26 passengers wearing life jackets were rescued alive, 15 bodies were recovered and three people were missing. He noted that the incident came eight days after a NIWA sensitization campaign at the same waterfront.
Marshals and penalties are already in place. Waterways marshals were inaugurated at Zumba to enforce transport regulations. Adeboye has also said NIWA gazetted penalty codes for operators and passengers who fail to comply. The open question is whether operators get realistic access to compliance before sanctions bite.
Questions for NIWA and the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy:
How many jackets are needed to cover the licensed capacity of boats at Niger waterfronts, against the 3,500 supplied?
Can bulk procurement or local assembly bring the N20,000 price down?
Will NIWA publish compliance figures and sanctions issued after the campaign?
Agency says new assets will sustain the fight against piracy as technical partner calls for regular upgrades and a land-sea security approach
By Raymond Gold | Waterways News
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has added a new batch of high-tech equipment to the Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure, better known as the Deep Blue Project. The assets were unveiled at the 2026 Africa International Defence Exhibition (AFRIDEX).
The showcase included vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) drones that can operate from sea vessels, newly delivered armoured vehicles, rugged light utility vehicles built for bush and littoral terrain, and integrated intelligence systems. The equipment is meant to sharpen surveillance and response across both coastal and inland waters.
From Right to Left: Head, Deep Blue, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Mrs. Aisha Yakubu Idris; Honourable Minister of Defence, General Christopher Gwabin Musa; Chief Executive Officer, Homeland Security International (HLSI); Tal Spektor and a guest at the 2026 Africa International Defence Exhibition (AFRIDEX).
The Minister of Defence, General Christopher Gwabin Musa (rtd), toured the Deep Blue stand and watched a live simulation of a piracy interdiction in Nigerian waters.
Speaking for NIMASA Director-General Dr. Dayo Mobereola, the Head of the Deep Blue Unit, Mrs. Aisha Yakubu Idris, said the new assets would strengthen the project’s sustainability. They would also ensure that military personnel deployed under it have the equipment to keep up the fight against piracy. She said Nigeria would maintain zero tolerance for illegal activity in its waters.
Tal Spektor, CEO of HLS International, the project’s technical partner, said assets must be upgraded regularly to keep pace with evolving maritime threats. He argued that maritime security cannot stop at the shoreline, since offshore crime is often tied to land-based networks. He added that upgrades to the intelligence systems have improved cargo monitoring and information-sharing between NIMASA and other government agencies.
AFRIDEX 2026 drew security organisations from several countries, senior military officers and key stakeholders from Nigeria’s maritime sector.
Nigeria Watch
What this means for Nigerian maritime stakeholders
Deep Blue is expanding. The showcase follows NIMASA’s earlier signals about growing the project. In February, the agency said it was considering an expansion after the IMO’s commendation of Deep Blue. In May, Minister of Marine and Blue Economy Adegboyega Oyetola spoke of extending coverage to Bakassi and other vulnerable corridors at the graduation of 492 advanced combat personnel in Elele, Rivers State. AFRIDEX shows the hardware side of that expansion.
The “land link” matters. Spektor’s point that offshore crime has onshore roots is worth noting. It suggests the project is moving beyond patrolling the Gulf of Guinea towards intelligence-led enforcement, including cargo monitoring and inter-agency data-sharing. How well NIMASA, the Navy, the NPA and other agencies actually share data will decide whether that holds up.
Open questions remain. The reports give no figures on the quantity or cost of the new assets, or on how they will be deployed and maintained. For a project that has run on public funds since 2021, stakeholders are entitled to those details.
Inland operators are not in the picture. The showcase focused on offshore and coastal security. Nothing reported addresses whether the new capabilities will reach the creeks and inland waterways where small-scale operators, including WABOTAN and ATBOWATON members, face insecurity daily.
Waterways News will keep asking how far Deep Blue’s protection extends beyond the high seas.
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