Nigeria is embarking on an ambitious plan to upscale its blue economy through initiatives that will contribute to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product, GDP.
These are the words of the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola, at a final validation workshop for the draft national blue economy strategy for Nigeria.
Nigeria is blessed with a vast coastline and diverse marine resources with significant potential in a number of sectors.
These sectors include fisheries, aquaculture, tourism, marine transport, marine security and renewable energy.
But the country is yet to tap into the many economic benefits in all of these sectors.
Six months after the first national consultative workshop for formulating Nigeria’s Blue economy strategy, the team is back for final validation of the draft.
The African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources and the Kingdom of Norway are spearheading this initiative to see to the development of Nigeria’s blue economy.
The coalition believes with Nigeria’s vast resources, the nation should be at the forefront in growing its GDP through these sectors.
The Nigerian government says its mission is to establish quantum numbers of small and medium sized enterprises to generate jobs.
Leading players in the sector are optimistic the final draft, once adopted, will scale up Nigeria’s fortunes.
The Minister wants the private sector and investors to seize the opportunities presented by government-led programmes and initiatives.
In the next three days , participants are expected to review, validate and adopt the final document that will serve as a roadmap for the sustainable development of blue economy.
