Maritime Agencies Rake in N850.3bn Revenue for 2024
In 2024, four key agencies under the Marine and Blue Economy umbrella collectively generated a significant revenue of N850.324 billion.
This was a 77 per cent growth compared to the amount generated by the agencies in the previous year 2023.
The agencies include the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Lagos; Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC); the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA).
Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, disclosed that the ministry, with its agencies, “has achieved a ramp up of revenue to the government in the last one year and is poised to do more.”
He spoke in Lagos during an interactive session with journalists where he reeled out the achievements of his ministry in the last one year.
He equally clarified on the plan to establish a new national flag carrier in maritime, saying it is going to be strictly through the public private partnership (PPP) arrangement.
Oyetola said the ministry has taken bold steps towards harnessing the potential in the nation’s Marine and Blue Economy sector, adding that the federal government had concluded the development of Nigeria’s National Blue Economy Strategy document.
This, he explained, was done in partnership with African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) and the Kingdom of Norway.
He said the government has similarly finalised the Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy through the support of The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and WorldFish,
A breakdown of the revenue generated by the four agencies in the last one year compared to the previous year indicated that NIMASA raked in N67,019, 516,644 as against 42,309,402,396 in 2023.
NPA which is the highest revenue earner generated N758,260,436,573 in 2024 as against N411,453,708,565 in the previous year while the Shippers Council generated N19,150,248,873 as against N21,975,198,251. NIWA on its part generated N5,894,132,507 in 2024 compared to N3,338,453, 962 generated last year.
Oyetola stated that the federal government was determined to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of the Nigerian ports to position them to deliver optimal performance for stakeholders.
He explained that as part of improving the ease of doing business at the ports, the federal government has succeeded in reducing the number of agencies at the ports from 13 to 7, adding, “Our target is four and we are working on that.”
On the national carrier, Oyetola clarified that the one being proposed would not be that of the defunct Nigerian National Shipping Line (NNSL), saying a committee is in place to midwife the project which would be driven through a PPP arrangement.
“We are not investing so much. We might not even invest anything at all but the government will create an enabling environment for the private sector to come in,” he said.
The minister further explained that in concert with NIMASA, the ministry has engaged stakeholders to finalise arrangements for the disbursement of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF).
“This will assist indigenous shipping operators to acquire new vessels and enhance indigenous capacity. The ministry is seeing to it that the correct template is put in place to ensure transparency and accountability in the disbursement of funds.
“Efforts are on to bring in Development Banks into the disbursement process. I am glad to inform you that NIMASA is working on this and has almost completed the process,” he said.
On Maritime Security and Safety, the minister explained that Nigeria remains committed to safeguarding the crucial shipping lanes that traverse West Africa and the Gulf of Guinea.
He said the implementation of the Deep Blue Sea Project and the Falcon Eye Surveillance Systems, featuring advanced surveillance and response systems, has significantly strengthened maritime security.
