SUSTAINABLE BLUE ECONOMY IN NIGERIA: Ministry considers working with AfCA + BS
Oru Leonard
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr. Magdalene Ajani has expressed the consideration of her Ministry to adopt the proposal of the African Centre for Asia Plus Bangladesh Studies, on best practices to deploy that can foster economic diversification, create jobs, ensure environmental sustainability and inclusive growth with the overall set goal of a sustainable and thriving Marine and Blue Economy. “But we will not fund a private sector project”, the Permanent Secretary/ declared.
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr. Magdalene Ajani, stated this on Monday, 19th December, 2023 in Abuja, when a delegation from the African Centre for Asia Plus Bangladesh Studies (AfCA+BS) led by its Chairman, Arc. Bob Achanya, paid her a courtesy visit “with the aim of letting the permanent secretary know of the programmes of the Centre and to secure the buy-in of the Ministry, as the leader of the delegation, Arc. Achanya stated.
According to Ajani “In terms of collaboration, we will, but in terms of the funding, we do not have budgetary provisions”, adding that “One thing I can tell you is that we are not going to take full ownership for a private initiative”.
Speaking further, the Permanent Secretary expressed the resolve that the Ministry will explore how best, both bodies can collaborate towards navigating the path of the new Ministry.
She further called on the AfCA +BS to engage the technical team of the Ministry comprising of the Maritime Safety and Security (MSS), the Transport Planning and Coordination (TPC) Departments as well as the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) and come up with derivable beneficial as regards the partnership.
In his earlier remarks, the President of AfCA + BS, Arc. Bob Achanya stated the need for reciprocal visit and interface, which he said is strategic, following the delegation’s recent foray, that is, being part of the delegation that represented the new Ministry at the Nigeria Blue Economy Transition Strategy Mission to Kenya from November 12 – 17, 2023.
Achanya further stated that his team came back to Nigeria bearing insights, experiences and shared vision for the transformative journey that lies ahead for Nigeria’s blue space.
According to him, this followed fruitful discussions, experience-sharing, and strategic planning with their Kenyan counterparts.
He added that the “key outcomes from the mission include identification of strategic initiatives, for inland waterways and aviation, aligned with Nigeria’s blooming blue economy policy and implementation plan; valuable insights garnered from the Blue Economy Transition Strategy Summit in Kenya and collaborative frameworks with international partners.”
“The Kenya mission has set the stage for pivotal actions, these steps encompass crucial initiatives, including the reciprocal organization of the Blue Economy Transition Strategy Summit”, Achanya stated.
Identifying Nigeria’s distinctive peculiarities, Achanya noted that not all of Kenya’s pivotal actions in the blue space will be considered as input to Nigeria’s iimplementation plan.
The Director, Maritime Safety and Security (DMSS), in the Ministry, Babatunde Bombata in his remarks, dwell on Nigeria identifying its comparative advantage over other countries in the blue space that will foster full harnessing of the potentials of the Nigeria’s Maritime Sector.
(FMoT Press)
