The Honourable Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, His Excellency Adegboyega Oyetola, led a high-level Citizens and Stakeholders Forum today at Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, aimed at accelerating the implementation of the recently approved National Policy on Marine and Blue Economy.
The engagement, convened under the theme “Strengthening Collaboration for Effective Implementation of the National Policy on Marine and Blue Economy”, brought together key actors across government, industry, academia, and civil society in a bid to forge a unified, action-oriented strategy for the marine sector’s transformation.
Delivering the keynote address, the minister emphasised that the creation of the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy represents one of the boldest and most forward-thinking reforms under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. He described the Federal Executive Council’s approval of the National Policy on Marine and Blue Economy as a major turning point, offering a structured framework to unlock value across Nigeria’s vast marine ecosystems, including port infrastructure, maritime security, aquaculture, coastal tourism, ocean governance, marine biotechnology, renewable energy, and climate resilience.
Oyetola noted that the forum was not ceremonial, but rather a practical working session designed to craft an implementation roadmap with clear institutional responsibilities and measurable deliverables. He stressed the need for inter-agency coordination, accountability mechanisms, and capacity building, affirming that citizen engagement and shared ownership are essential to the success of the policy. Drawing on global trends, he argued that inclusive policymaking yields stronger development outcomes, particularly in complex and interconnected sectors such as the marine economy.
The Minister highlighted key milestones achieved by the Ministry since its inception, including a 75 per cent performance score in 2024 as evaluated by the Central Results Delivery Coordination Unit under the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination. This performance, achieved despite institutional challenges, places the Ministry among the top-performing MDAs nationwide. He commended the efforts of the Ministry’s Delivery Task Teams and urged them to sustain the momentum in pursuing excellence.
Leave a Reply
Leave a Reply
