N7trn Blue Economy Revenue: Expert Demands Jurisdiction, Warns Against Bureaucracy

The immediate past executive secretary of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), Barr. Hassan Bello, has said that the Marine and Blue Economy Ministry if properly harnessed will generate N7 trillion into the federation account yearly.

Speaking to LEADERSHIP, on Tuesday, when he visited the founder of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Dr Boniface Aniebonam, Bello called for the definition of jurisdiction for the newly created Ministry.

According to him, the creation of the ministry by President Bola Tinubu is the first deliberate effort by the federal government in so many years to harness the potentials inherent in the maritime sector.

“So, that clarity is very important but whatever the case may be, if there is a gap then it means we are not getting the best of the resources. We have about  N7 trillion in that sector to be harnessed and as I used to say when I was the executive secretary of Shippers’ Council that we can as well close the nation’s oil well if we position the sector very well.”

“I hope the government must be commended for creating a separate agency but, I hope we have to be careful against duplication and conflict. We have to navigate carefully for distinction and legal framework.”

The maritime experts, however, cautioned that the ministry mustn’t be entangled or fall in the pit of bureaucracy or territorial acquisition.

He said, “this is one of the first deliberate conscious effort either by design or forced that the government is extremely conscious of the role of maritime in the new awakening as far as our economy is concerned. There are a lot of things to be handled and the blue economy should be defined and should have their work cutout for them.

“For instance, what are we going to do with fisheries? Transportation on the water? What is the role of tourism? How will the blue economy create jobs in bringing mega revenue to the government. That’s very important but clarity as I said is important, we need to define the jurisdiction and the functions of this ministry,” he stated.

Bello said the federal government must create the right atmosphere for the sector to reap from the blue economy and it must be devoid of bureaucracy and conflict.

“We have to be careful not to fall into the pit of bureaucracy. Someone will say this is my territory and this is not yours and before you realise, seven months have gone down the ladder, you are still looking for the definition of what the new Ministry is all about.

“However, I believe there shouldn’t be any issue because we have about seven countries that have the same nomenclature of Marine and Blue Economy. The Blue economy isn’t a new thing, it has been a topic of discussion in about three years back by NIMASA championing revenue that could be generated from Oceans. I think we have to come to the issue of regulation and the issue of enabling the atmosphere.

“The government must create the right atmosphere for us to reap from the Blue Economy devoid of bureaucracy and conflicts and power. With clarity, I think this will be a very good move by the government,” he stated.

“The ministry of Marine and Blue Economy is significant but we have to be very careful of clarity. There must be clarity of jurisdiction and functions of this ministry so that we don’t just create an empty bureaucracy.