President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has unveiled a fresh national security and economic framework designed to transform Nigeria’s vast marine and aquatic resources into a major driver of economic diversification, job creation and long-term prosperity.
The President, represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, disclosed this on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa during a parley with participants of Senior Executive Course 47 of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS).
He directed all relevant ministries, departments and agencies to immediately study and prepare to implement recommendations contained in the NIPSS report on blue economy development, describing the study as a significant roadmap for national progress.
In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communications in the Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha, the President said “the blue economy offers a strategic pathway for diversifying our revenue base, creating sustainable employment and revitalising the ecosystems that sustain national development. If properly harnessed, this sector could become an anchor of shared prosperity for generations”.
Welcoming the findings of the NIPSS study on Blue Economy and Sustainable Development in Nigeria, the President commended the institute for its “analytical rigour, creativity and patriotic duty,” noting that Nigeria’s natural endowment, including an 853-kilometre coastline, rich fisheries, extensive inland waterways and a strategic Atlantic location, places the country in a strong global maritime position.
He listed aquaculture expansion, port and maritime-corridor modernisation, coastal tourism, marine biotechnology and renewable ocean energy as priority areas of the administration.
“These opportunities lie within our grasp if we act with discipline and intentionality,” he stated.
Reaffirming his reform drive, President Tinubu said the creation of the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy was a strategic step to improve port management systems, strengthen maritime security and enable private-sector participation.
But he warned that the full benefits of the blue economy would not be realised without a secure operating environment.
While noting that piracy had reduced through the Deep Blue Project, he cautioned that “oil theft, illegal fishing, smuggling, vandalism and kidnapping still undermine national revenues and investor confidence.
These threats are real, and this administration is taking decisive steps to address them.”
