Because of the industry’s enormous potential to spur economic growth, senators and members of the House of Representatives have urged more support for the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy.
During the ministry’s budget defence session on Tuesday, the parliamentarians made this request. The ministry was allocated 11 billion naira for its 2025 operations.
Minister Gboyega Oyetola, a former governor of Osun State, stated at the presentation of the estimates that the ministry needed the amount of capital budget expenditure in order to fulfil its ambitious mandate and potential.
“For clarity, I wish to state that three of the agencies under the Ministry, namely: NPA, NIMASA, and NSC, are fully self-funding and make significant remittances to the Consolidated Revenue Fund,” he said.
He explained that the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), and Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron derive their funding from both the Federal Government Budget and Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
However, lawmakers contended that the funding is insufficient to meet the sector’s obligations and fully realize its potential.
Senator Wasiu Eshinlokun, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Marine and Blue Economy, emphasized the significance of early budget preparations for 2026 and sufficient funding. “There is tremendous promise in the marine and blue economy sectors. We need to start planning for the 2026 budget now to make sure the ministry can carry out its duty,” he said.
In order to establish Nigeria as a maritime economic hub in Africa, the lawmakers also emphasised important projects like the dredging of the Niger and Benue Rivers and the construction of coastal infrastructure.
They emphasized increased investment in the sector would yield substantial economic benefits for the country.
