TransQuest Media Seeks Policy Overhaul to Harness Nigeria’s Blue Economy Potential
TransQuest Media Seeks Policy Overhaul to Harness Nigeria’s Blue Economy Potential
TransQuest Media has called for far-reaching policy reforms and stronger stakeholder collaboration to unlock the enormous potential of Nigeria’s blue economy and position the country as Africa’s foremost maritime hub.
The appeal was made by the Publisher of TransQuest Media, Felix Kumuyi, during the organisation’s 21st anniversary and award ceremony held in Ikeja, Lagos. The event, themed “Appraising Nigeria’s Blue Economy: Charting a Pathway to Sustainable Growth,” brought together key players in the maritime sector to discuss strategies for advancing the industry.
Kumuyi commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for creating the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, describing the initiative as a bold step towards harnessing Nigeria’s vast marine resources for economic diversification, employment generation and sustainable national development.
He, however, stressed that establishing the ministry alone would not be sufficient to unlock the sector’s immense potential.
According to him, Nigeria must pursue coherent policy implementation, modernise port infrastructure, strengthen maritime security, improve regulatory efficiency, promote environmental sustainability and invest in human capital to attract both domestic and foreign investments.
“Beyond our ports and shipping activities lies enormous wealth embedded in our oceans, inland waterways, fisheries, aquaculture, marine tourism, coastal resources, renewable marine energy and maritime services,” Kumuyi said.
He observed that despite Nigeria’s strategic location on the Gulf of Guinea, the country has yet to fully exploit the opportunities within the blue economy due to infrastructure gaps, inconsistent policies, regulatory bottlenecks, inadequate financing and weak coordination among stakeholders.
Kumuyi emphasised the need for government, regulators, investors, development partners, academia and industry operators to forge stronger partnerships in transforming Nigeria’s marine resources into sustainable drivers of economic growth.
He explained that the anniversary lecture was organised to stimulate informed dialogue, provide objective assessments and generate practical recommendations to support policy development and effective implementation within the marine and blue economy sector.
“We are particularly honoured to have with us our distinguished guest lecturers, whose wealth of knowledge and experience will undoubtedly enrich our understanding of the challenges, opportunities and practical pathways towards building a resilient and globally competitive blue economy for Nigeria,” he said.
Kumuyi also expressed appreciation to the Chairman of the occasion, Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs (rtd.) Charles Ekporwei Edike, maritime commentator Lucky Amiwero, former President of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Dr Eugene Nweke, Customs Area Controllers, captains of industry, policymakers, heads of government agencies and other stakeholders for their contributions to the event.
