The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, says Nigeria’s maritime sector has undergone a far-reaching transformation in the three years since President Bola Tinubu established the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy in August 2023.
Oyetola said the ministry had moved swiftly to unlock the economic potential of Nigeria’s 853-kilometre coastline and extensive inland waterways, positioning the marine and blue economy as a major driver of revenue, trade, security and job creation.
Presenting the ministry’s three-year scorecard, through a press statement Sunday in Abuja, the minister said the reform programme had delivered measurable gains across revenue generation, port infrastructure, maritime security, regulation, indigenous shipping, human-capital development, fisheries and inland-waterway safety.
He noted that at the heart of the ministry’s mandate is a simple but powerful objective to turn Nigeria’s vast marine resources into sustainable economic value for Nigerians.
The minister asserted that one of the clearest indicators of the progress recorded is the unprecedented growth in revenues generated by agencies under the ministry.
“The agencies generated ₦1.83 trillion in 2025, representing a 160 per cent increase over the ₦700.79 billion recorded in 2023,” he added.
Oyetola attributed the growth to regulatory reforms, stronger revenue assurance, digitisation and the systematic closure of financial leakages.
“The improvement in revenue performance was part of a broader effort to build a more transparent, efficient and investment-friendly maritime economy,” the minister said.
Speaking on the new policy framework for the ministry, he opined that a major milestone in the reform programme was the approval, in May 2025, of Nigeria’s first National Policy on Marine and Blue Economy.
This, according to him, marked an important departure from the fragmented approach that had characterised the management of Nigeria’s maritime resources over the years by establishing a unified framework for shipping, fisheries, offshore energy, marine biotechnology and other emerging opportunities.
“This policy gives us a clear roadmap. It provides the predictability and transparency investors need while ensuring that our marine resources are developed sustainably,” he explained.
The minister said the policy was designed to guide government intervention and provide greater certainty for private-sector investment across the marine and blue economy value chain, adding that port modernisation has remained at the centre of the Ministry’s transformation agenda.
He noted: “The federal government had embarked on a comprehensive programme to upgrade Nigeria’s major seaports, covering Apapa, Tin Can Island, Onne, Rivers, Calabar and Warri.
“The programme includes channel improvements, modern cargo-handling infrastructure and increased digitisation of terminal operations, with the objective of improving efficiency and positioning Nigerian ports to handle larger volumes of international trade.
“The reforms have also attracted international recognition.The World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence ranked Tin Can Island Port 10th and the Lagos Port Complex, Apapa, 12th among the world’s 20 most improved container ports between 2020 and 2025..”