Tinubu unveils security, economic blueprint for marine wealth

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.”

In a major policy move, the President also assigned NIPSS an expanded national security mandate, directing the institute to conduct nationwide security diagnostic and present practical recommendations for overhauling the country’s security architecture.

“The policy paper shall be submitted to my office within an agreed timeline, and it will receive the utmost attention,” he assured.

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Earlier, the Director-General of NIPSS, Prof. Ayo Omotayo, commended the President and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, for supporting the Senior Executive Course, noting that participants had conducted field studies in several states and 14 countries.

Presenting highlights of the report titled Blue Economy and Sustainable Development in Nigeria: Issues, Challenges and Opportunities, Colonel Murkar Dauda said systemic governance gaps, weak institutional coordination and sub-standard infrastructure remained obstacles, but stressed that fisheries, aquaculture, and expanded marine revenues offer substantial opportunities.

Among its recommendations, the report urged the Federal Government to launch a national fisheries expansion programme to raise fish production from 1.2 million metric tonnes to 10 million metric tonnes within two years, develop a comprehensive financing framework for the marine and blue economy, harmonise legal and policy regimes, and strengthen safety and security on inland waterways.

The report also called for the establishment of an innovative skills, job-creation and social-inclusion framework to support sustainable growth in the sector.