Special Report: Adeboyega, Gives Strong Leadership To Marine And Blue Economy Ministry; Strengthens Agencies, As Stakeholders Applauds

By Stephen Ubanna

For the first time over the last two decades, maritime agencies and operators will attest to the fact that Adegboyega Oyetola, a former governor of Osun state and now minister of Marine and Blue Economy, which was carved out from the ministry of Transportation deserves accolades for his achievement in the ministry over the last year.

 Stakeholders had attributed the turnaround in the ministry and its agencies over the last one year to his ‘’strong Leadership’’ and close monitoring of the officials to ensure compliance to his orders.  This may have informed why Nigeria, has achieved 100% compliance in the 2024, Turtle Excluder Device, TED, inspection exercises, that was said to have been carried out by the US, Department of State.

The Osun state born minister of marine and blue economy may have taken advantage of the opportunity provided at an interactive session with members of the League of Maritime Editors in Lagos, the nation’s Commercial nerve center, on Thursday, January 30, 2025, to give an insight on the ministry and its agencies Achievements under his Leadership over the last on year, which industry operators had described as’’ encouraging and commendable’’.

The minister who was said to have been accompanied to the no-hold bar’’ interactive session, with the top officials of the ministry including Olufemi Michael Oloruntola, the Permanent Secretary and the CEOs, of the agencies of the ministry, who were called intermittently to answer questions relating to their agencies could beat his chest that the ministry of marine and blue, had performed exceedingly well given its Constitutional responsibilities.

Described as an encyclopedia of the nation’s maritime industry in less than two years of being in office may have informed why top officials of the ministry and its, agencies Chief Executive Officers, CEO, who had wants to see him on any issue that requires his approval do their proper homework before coming to his office.

Mobereola: DG, NIMASA

  Dayo Mobereola, Director General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, may have alluded to this when he was invited to respond to questions on the idle Modula Floating Dock, disclosed that the maritime regulatory agency, could not have submitted any report on the status of the N150 billion, Floating Dock to the minister until a company has been contracted to manage the vessel. Last June, the NIMASA BOSS had visited the location of the floating dock at the NPA , dockyard to see things himself.

    He had confirmed that some Naval personnel have been engaged to manage and maintain the facility which Melsmore, an indigenous company, which was engaged had relocated it from the Naval dockyard, Victorian Island, to the waterfront of Dolphine Jetty at the NPA dockyard. Note that Josephine waterfront was a former NPA, dockyard used by the Continental shipyard for its operations.

Past and present Management Team of NIMASA, appears to have moved to engage an indigenous company to manage the agency Floating Dock to have something to present to the minister who had repeatedly said  that  the Government,  has nothing to do with  business,urging the maritime agency to   contract   to a  Company on a Public-Private Partnership arrangement , PPP, arrangement,  to achieve the purpose to which  the  Dock,  was acquired in  2019.

The NIMASA, Director General had confirmed that the agency actually had engaged the services of the technical partners, Melsmore , which had relocated the Floating  Dock to the NPA jetty, which Bashir Jamoh, the immediate Director General of the agency had said  are to liaise with  the NPA   in finalizing  ‘’the site Management , which include risk assessment’’.

The parties, according to the NIMASA, helmsman, had agreed on a sharing formular of the profit from the business based on’’ Gross Turnover of its profit’’ but regretted that the company had made a U-turn to turn to the offer insisting that the sharing formular of the profit must be based on ‘’the Net profit’’, which had remained a bone of contention between the parties.

Notwithstanding that the messy deal between NIMSA and Melsmore, the minister of marine and blue economy still believes that there is nothing wrong yet. He had sounded it loud and clear that ‘’the ministry is leveraging on PPP, as it has engaged Tropical General Investments, TGI, for ‘’the establishment of a state- of the- art fishing terminal, which he had said would be the first of its kind in the African Continent.

NIMASA modula floating dock

Taking a cue of what is happening in other maritime nations, in Europe, US, UK and the Asian countries of China, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, and Philippines, may have emboldened the minister to declare that the establishment of the state- of -the- art fisheries terminal in Nigeria, ‘’aligns with the present Administration’s commitment    to transforming the fisheries and the country’s aquaculture sector. Drawing inspirations from the President’s ‘’Renewed Hope Agenda   which prioritizes ‘’economic diversification, food security and sustainable development’’, he was said to have promised to pursue the completion of the project with all the seriousness, it deserves.      

 Jumoke Oduwole, Special Adviser to President Tinubu, on Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council, PEBEC, letter of recognitions that was said to have been sent to the minister in June 2024, to celebrate his ‘’ exceptional achievements in office and demonstrating strong Leadership’’ speaks volume.

The Central Results Coordinating Unit, CRCDU, under the Leadership of Hajia  Hadiza Bala Usman,  a former Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority , NPA, and currently Special Adviser to the Nigerian  President on Policy Coordination , according to an insider had rated   the ministry of marine and blue economy superintended by the former Osun state governor  to be among  the four  top  performing ministries under the present Administration.

Oloruntola: PS, ministry of marine and blue econOmy

The recognition of Adegboyegha, may have given HIM the ammunition to deliver on his Presidential mandate ‘’to institutionalize the ministry of marine and blue economy as an important pillar for economic sustenance and growth diversification having regards to the country’s ecosystem’’.

With  six  maritime agencies:,  NPA, NIMASA, Nigerian Shippers Council, NSC, Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority, NIWA, and Maritime Academy Oron, located in Akwa Ibom, home state of Gdswill Akpabio, President of Nigerian Senate, including   Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria, CRFFN,   to supervise , may have given the minister the ammunition to go back to the drawing board  ‘’to create a world class  marine and blue economy  system in Nigeria’’ and further position’’ the country as a hub  for maritime trade and other  economic activities  in the West and Central African subregions’’.

He was said to have gone a step further ‘’to fulfill all obligations expected by International Organizations, particular, the International Maritime Organization, IMO, a maritime agency of the United Nations, UN, to which Nigeria is a signatory on maritime commerce and Labour conventions.

The minister who was said to have put all efforts to rejig the ministry   and is agencies  and the nation’s maritime sector, in general, was said to have stimulated a national marine and blue economy policy across all the sectors within the new ministry to put it in top form.

The inclusion of Federal Department of Fisheries and Agriculture and Nigerian Institute of Oceanography , National Institute  for Freshwater  Research, NIFR,  Federal  College of  Freshwater  Fisheries Technology, FCFFT, New Busa/ Buga,  and Federal College  of Fisheries  and Technology, CFMT,  may have given the Osun state politician , an additional responsibility which he had faced with the attention it deserves.

Given an insider information, the minister who speaks with facts and figures had said that NPA, had successfully Negotiated a United Kingdom, UK, export finance facility of the North American country of the United States, US, $700 million, with Citibank Nigeria, to rehabilitate the Apapa and Tincan Island ports, expected to create 20,00 jobs.

He had said that the modernization project, which is currently being executed in phases, will also be extended to the south eastern ports of Onne, Rivers state, Warri, Delta state and Calabar, Cross river state. Even the Ministry technical guidance of the Authority through SOP, for the Exporting Terminals, was said to have led to trade surplus of N6.95 trn in the second quarter of 2024, as confirmed by the Bureau of Statistics.

The ministry was said to have acquired through the Abubakar Dantsoho, led NPA, two marine crafts, Azimuth Stern Drive, ASD, 8213 model 80 Bollard Pull Tugboats for berthing of large vessels, described as the first of its its-kind in the Africa by industry operators.

 The minister may have gladdened the heart of industry operators when he stated that that NPA, has reached   the conclusive stages of deploying the Port Community System, PCS, which industry operators had said would ‘’eliminate delays, drive port efficiency and block areas of revenue Leakages’’. Recall that in 2024, NPA NIMASA, NSC and NIWA, had collected a total sum of N850 billion, which was said to have been paid into the Federation Account. The breakdown shows, NPA, alone collected over N758 billion, NIMASA, a little above N67 billion, NSC, N19.150 billion while NIWA, collected about N6 billion which was paid into the Federal Government coffers. Recall that in 2023, the four maritime agencies had collected N479,076,763,174 billion for the government.

Dansoho, MD, NPA, happy at the modernisation of Lagos Ports

  One area which the former Osun state governor may have shown his skills as an Administrator is the engagement of the Nigerian Customs Services, NCS, under the close watch of Barshir Adewale Adeniyi, and other relevant government agencies   for ‘’the full pull of the National Single window initiative’’   which is expected to ‘’to eliminate human interface and deepen efficiency of the ports’’.

Another area is the deployment of scanners, fast -track the clearing process at the nation’s seaports, reduce congestions and improve transparency at the ports’’.  

Given the no nonsense degboyegha’s decision to resolve the problem of overlap of duties by the government agencies allowed to operate at the ports may have given him the audacity after a thorough review of the situation on ground as he was said to  initiated consultations  ‘’to reduce the  number of  government  agencies at the nation’s seaports  to a maximum of seven meaning that agencies that may be penciled down to leave the port   must go but could   only be invited when their services are needed.

The minister may have had in mind that the only government agencies that should be allowed to operate at the ports this time are around are NPA, NIMASA, NCS, Nigerian Police Force, Department of State Security, DSS, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration, NAFDAC, Port Health and Nigerian Immigration Service, NIS.

For NIWA, which in the recent time has got the full backing of the minister to ban the use of rickety wooden boats in Nigerian Inland waterways for commercial purposes moves to standardize boats used in Nigerian waters to curtail the rate of boat mishaps, had confirmed that the agency had commenced hydrographic survey /charting of river Niger, stating that consultancy services towards the dredging of the country’s Inland waterways had commenced.

The ministry was said to have also commenced ‘’the rehabilitation of access roads to the nation’s ports’’ across the country. In doing so, an elated Adegboyegha, had said the ministry is collaborating   with the ministry of Works, under the Leadership of Dave Umahi, a former governor of Eboyi state and minister of works and the Federal ministry of Transportation to further reduce congestions at the nation’s seaports.

Indded, one major plus for the Adegboyegha’s Administration as the pioneer minister of marine and blue economy was the collaboration with international partners, private companies ‘’to unlock the use of back waters, dams, lakes and reservoirs for aquaculture   and marine culture’’.

In addition, the new ministry of marine and blue economy was said   to have equally moved to stop the mess in Nigerian waters   as it was it had deployed a Satellite based Vessel Monitoring System, ‘’to conduct monitoring exercises aimed at combating illegal unregulated fishing activities in Nigerian waters’’.

The NSC,  on its part was said to have taken advantage of the good Leadership that had been provided by the minister of  the ministry of marine and blue economy  to  Launch  an operational manual for Inland  Dry Ports across the country covering Kano, Lagos, Aba and Funtua IDP and Jos IDP. The manual, according to the minister  is expected to  ‘’to guide operational processes at the ports’’.

 The agency was said  to have also developed   an e-regulatory  Process Portal, RPP,  for accessing  regulatory devices.  It was said to have also embarked on efforts ‘’to adopt technology   and modern equipment at port operations such as the implementation of the International Cargo Tracking  Note , CTN.

In spite of the lofty achievements that had been achieve achieved by the ministries and its agencies under Adegboyega’s Leadership, minister still believes that more still needed to be done to move the industry to the next level. This has to do with resolving the country’s import cargoes which is based on Free on Board, FOB while the exported cargoes are based on Cost Insurance Freight, CIF, to the advantage of the foreign shipping lines.

Nigeria trained seafarers

The minister was said to have stated clearly that the country needed a National Carrier that could take Cadets of MAN, Oron for sea time training as no foreign ship Lines wants to accept them, let alone employ them. Close Associates had said that since the minister’s mindset is targeted at setting up a national carrier for Nigeria, and taking advantage of his close working relationship with the President who is determined to revive the country’s economy, he will achieve the target.

His happiness was that Mobereola, led NIMASA and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation  now baptized  Nigerian National Petroleum Company, NNNPCL, with  the passage of  the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, bythe National Assembly  and signed into Law, by the then President Buhari, in August 2021, discussion   over indigenous shipping Lines carrying Nigerian Crude  to the International market  is  nearing conclusion as the agency  is set to sign a Memorandum of Understanding MOU,  with the  Nigerian  Content Development  and Monitoring Board , NCDMB, on the vexed issue.   

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