By Stphen Ubanna
Towards the tail end of 2024 and much of this 2025, Adegboyega Oyetola, a former governor of Osun state and now minister of marine and blue economy and the inter-ministerial Committee set up to promote Nigerian Campaign to win the upcoming elections into the International Maritime Organisation, IMO, a United Naton, UN’s maritime agency, Category C, Council Seat tare seriously using their diplomatic operational strategies in soliciting votes to yield dividends.
At the various international forums that had been attended the minister and members of the Committee they were said to have articulated the achievements of the Nigerian government in the country’s maritime sector, particular, the modernization of the nation’s seaports as well as the improved security that there had not been any reported case of piracy, sea robbery or attack on Crew members in Nigerian waters or the Gulf of Guinea over the last three years.
This could be achieved because the government had procured seven armoured patrol boats for flag, port and coastal state operations, valued at about 13 million in 2023. The seven armoured patrol boats may have been procured by the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Administration to compliment the United States of America, US, $195, million, maritime security equipment procured by the deceased President Muhammadu Buhari’s Government.
The deceased President Buhari, now had procured 17 Interception Boats,16 coastal patrol boats, two special mission vessels, two special mission aircrafts, for surveillance of Nigerian Exclusive Economic Zone, EEZ, three helicopters and four Unmanned Aerial Vehicles through an Israeli firm, Messrs HLSI Security Systems which had won the multi-million dollars contract.
The impressive works that had been done by the Nigerian Navy , superintended by Vice Admiral Idi Abbas and Air Marshall Kelvin Aneke , chief of Nigerian Air Force, in mobilizing their personnel to operate and maintain the maritime security equipment that had been deployed into Nigeria waters and the Gulf of Guinea, may have emboldened minister Oyetola and the inter-ministerial Committee to have intensified its final round of diplomatic campaign ahead of the upcoming election into IMO Category C, Council Seat slated for Friday, November 28,2025.
Delivering a persuasive appeal to delegates at a well-attended lunch reception on Thursday, November 20, 205, at the IMO, headquarters in London, United Kingdom, Minister Oyetola, was said to have drawn of the delegates from more than 50 countries spread across Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America including the UK, which he had said formed a major pillar of Nigeria’s last outreach efforts before next week’s Council election.
Addressing the Ambassadors, Alternate Permanent Representatives and maritime policy makers, Minister Oyeola, who could not hide his feelings had said that ‘’Nigeria is not just a contender for the IMO Category C, Council Seat but as a country whose actions in maritime security, environmental responsibility and blue-economy reforms have directly advanced global seaborne trade.
He was said to have stressed that Nigeria’s candidature rests on ‘’tangible achievements rather than empty promises ‘’, nothing that ‘’the country has demonstrated consistent leadership in improving safety of ocean-going vessels and crew members across the Gulf of Guinea comprising of Angola, Republic of Benin and Cote d’Ivoire.
Other members of the sixteen coastal countries that are along the Gulf of Guinea includes Guinea Bissau, Ghana, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Togo, SierraLeone, and the Central African countries of Cameroun, Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
The Nigerian minister of marine and blue economy may have taken advantage of the caliber of people at the IMO, Luncheon to highlight the transformation of the Gulf of Guinea region from a high -rsk zone to a maritime corridor experiencing unprecedented stability’’.
He was said to have reaffirmed that Nigeria could record zero piracy incidents within its waters over the last three years, attributing it to regional cooperation and the country’s Deep Blue Project which have displayed decisive roles in curbing maritime crime, thus’’ safeguarding international shipping and further reinforcing confidence among seafarers, insurers and investors’’.
Minister Oyetola, was said to have also assured the IMO member States that Nigeria’s maritime policies remain firmly ‘’aligned with the Organization’s long-term priorities’’. He noted that through the ministry of marine and blue economy under his leadership, ‘’ Nigeria is deepening reforms at improving port efficiency, promoting sustainable ocean-based industries and protecting its marine environment’’.
He asserted that Nigeria’s bid for IMO Council membership seeks ‘’to strengthen partnerships rather prestige’’, emphasizing ‘’ shared responsibility in preserving the global maritime order’’. Appealing for support from member States of the IMO, the Nigerian minister of marine and blue economy, had invited the countries ‘’to lend Nigeria their trust, friendship and votes’’, stressing that the nation stands ready ‘’to contribute constructively to Council’s work across safety, security, environmental stewardship and maritime development’’. He did not stop there.
He had reaffirmed Nigeria’s dedication ‘’to a future where all coastal and seafaring nations, regardless of size, benefit from secure oceans and open trade routes’’. Minister had expressed Nigeria’s solidarity with IMO, member States recently affected by severe hurricanes and other natural disasters in the Caribbeans and Philippines. He had conveyed heartfelt sympathy to the countries reminding their delegates at the IMO meeting, that global maritime cooperation must be underpinned by compassion and unity, particular, in moments of grief.
He had thanked the delegates to the IMO meeting, the Secretariat staff, regional organisations and industry stakeholders for their continued dialogue and collaboration, stating that their presence at the reception affirmed ‘’the spirit of collective purpose that defines the UN, maritime agency.
Hear Him: The sea unites us far mor than divide us. Indeed, Nigeria has entered into the decisive final phase of its campaign, to secure a Seat in the IMO Category C, Seat, believing that with the goodwill broad among the international maritime nations, it has raised the country’s expectations ahead of the November 28, 2025, election. Vinta minister Oyetola.
