By Sandra Chukwunyere
Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Duoye Diri, and President of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, have outlined practical strategies for coastal states and the private sector to unlock Nigeria’s vast marine and blue economy potential, stressing that stronger state-level reforms, policy consistency and sustained private investment are critical to driving the sector’s growth.
They spoke on Thursday at the Second Quarter 2026 Citizens’ and Stakeholders’ Engagement of the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy held at Eko Hotel, Lagos. The engagement, themed “From Policy to Action: Mobilising Sub-National Governments for Effective Implementation of Nigeria’s National Policy on Marine and Blue Economy,” brought together government officials, diplomats, development partners, industry leaders, academics and representatives of state governments to discuss strategies for implementing the national policy.
Delivering the keynote address, Diri commended President Bola Tinubu for establishing the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, describing it as a strategic step towards diversifying Nigeria’s economy. He said Bayelsa had demonstrated its commitment by creating its own Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy in June 2024 to drive the blue economy component of the state’s A-S-S-U-R-E-D Prosperity Agenda.
The governor disclosed that the state ministry had commenced major fish production at the Bayelsa Aquaculture Village in Yenegwe, where an operational hatchery is breeding high-quality catfish fingerlings and juveniles to boost food security and create employment. He added that Bayelsa had expanded its marine transport fleet and was aggressively pursuing the development of the proposed Agge Deep Seaport as the next maritime gateway for the Niger Delta.
Diri also outlined five strategic actions for coastal states to maximise opportunities in the blue economy. These include establishing dedicated ministries of marine and blue economy, enacting enabling legislation, mapping and securing maritime domains, investing in credible data collection and analysis, and developing skills, markets, innovation hubs and logistics infrastructure.
In a presentation on private sector investment and industrialisation, Dangote, represented by the Managing Director of Dangote Port Operations, Simeon Akin Omole, said sustained private sector participation would be critical to the successful implementation of the National Policy on Marine and Blue Economy.
He noted that the policy aims to create three million jobs within its first four years, achieve annual sectoral growth of seven per cent and reserve at least 50 per cent of new jobs for young Nigerians between the ages of 18 and 35.
Dangote said industrial transformation required policy consistency, quality infrastructure, access to finance and investor confidence. He identified infrastructure-led industrialisation, value-chain development and stronger public-private partnerships as the three pillars needed to unlock the sector’s enormous potential.
He said the Federal Government’s approvals for major deep seaport projects across the country would stimulate industrial clusters incorporating agro-processing, petrochemicals, shipbuilding, cold-chain logistics and maritime technology, while boosting Nigeria’s competitiveness.
Dangote further identified the fisheries value chain as a major investment opportunity, noting that despite rising domestic production, Nigeria still imported fish worth nearly one billion dollars annually due to a significant supply deficit. He said investments in aquaculture, hatcheries, feed production, processing, cold-chain logistics and export infrastructure could reduce imports, conserve foreign exchange, create more than 500,000 jobs and position Nigeria as a leading exporter of fisheries products.
He also stressed that public-private partnerships should go beyond financing arrangements to become strategic collaborations involving government, investors, research institutions and coastal communities. According to him, coastal industrial clusters supported by modern ports, Special Economic Zones and digital infrastructure would attract long-term investment and accelerate industrialisation.
