New Telegraph

Maritime to lead Nigeria out of oil dependence

Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA)has said that maritime could offers Nigeria a substantial substitute in the country’s economic diversification drive.

 

Its Director-General, Dr Bashir Jamoh, said that the maritime had enormous potential to drive sustainable development in Nigeria, with huge investment opportunities in shipbuilding and repairs, offshore/floating spare parts sales and maintenance, freshwater bunkering and supply, dredging, and inland waterways transportation.

 

Jamoh, who disclosed this in Abuja when he delivered a paper titled: “Maritime Security and National Development in Nigeria: The Role of NIMASA” at the National Defence College (NDC), added over 14 countries and more than 20 cities around the world had proposed to ban the sale of passenger vehicles powered by petrol, liquefied petroleum gas and diesel at some point in the future.
In a statement by the agency’s Head of Corporate Communications, Philip Kyanet, quoted the director general as saying that about 75 per cent of all Gulf of Guinea-bound cargoes were destined for Nigeria. He noted that the sector was properly harnessed, maritime could give the country 30 times more than the revenue from oil.

 

Jamoh said: “Oil contributes about 70 per cent of government revenue and nearly 90 per cent of foreign exchange earnings in Nigeria. But Nigeria is trying to move away from the near total dependence on oil.
“Judging by a simple maritime resource mapping, and also research by reputable local and international organisations, it is clear that our marine environment can give us annually 30 times more than what we get from oil. There is boundless opportunity for investment in the sector, given the right conditions.”

 

The director-general decried the effect of maritime security issues on Nigeria and enumerated steps taken by the country to tackle the problem.

 

These include the promotion of worthy maritime governance system, maritime infrastructure development, and investment in maritime security. He said that the fiscal and monetary interventions by government, recent arrangements for better management of the NIMASA modular floating dock, and stakeholder support systems were part of efforts to enthrone good governance in the sector.
On security and infrastructure development, he highlighted the Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure, also called the Deep Blue Project, and the various fleet expansion and shipbuilding plans as measures to ensure a conducive environment for investment in the maritime industry.

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