72nd birthday: FG created marine Ministry to drive job creation, economic growth — Oyetola

Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola, has said the Federal Government is unlocking Nigeria’s vast marine resources to drive job creation, economic growth and environmental sustainability.

Oyetola disclosed this while speaking at an event marking his 72 birthday in his hometown, Iragbiji, headquarters of Boripe Local Government Area of Osun State, where he expressed appreciation to God, his family, friends and associates for celebrating him.

“I thank Almighty Allah, that allowed me to witness another year. I thank my friends, associates, and family for celebrating my birthday” he said.

The minister said the creation of the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy by President Bola Tinubu had provided a dedicated platform to harness Nigeria’s enormous potential in the sector.

He noted that Nigeria has about 853 kilometres of coastline and thousands of kilometres of inland waterways, stressing that the resources would only become valuable when effectively developed and utilised.

He said, “First of all, we need to thank Mr President for creating a dedicated Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy. Nigeria is blessed with a lot of resources, particularly marine resources. We have about 853 kilometres of coastline and 10,000 kilometres of inland waterways, among other resources. All these are assets until they are properly unlocked.

“The essence of creating the ministry is to unlock the potential and resources we have to create jobs, promote economic growth and ensure environmental sustainability. We have done very well by every standard within the three years since the ministry was created.

“We first started by ensuring that we developed a robust policy framework to guide investment opportunities in the Marine and Blue Economy. The policy was ratified by the Federal Executive Council sometime last year.

“Aside from that, we have done very well in the area of maritime security and safety.

“For the first time in about 15 years, Nigeria was admitted into the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Category C. That is an achievement that had eluded Nigeria for the past 15 years.

“Again, in the area of fisheries and aquaculture, we intend to ensure that we develop the capacity for local production. A lot of the fish consumed in Nigeria are imported. What we have done is to increase the capacity of our fishermen. Right now, we have increased fish production from about 1.3 million tonnes to approximately 1.5 million tonnes.

“On our inland waterways, we are working to minimise boat mishaps. We have done a lot in the area of advocacy and the distribution of life jackets.

“Apart from that, we are developing new deep-sea ports. For now, the Lekki Deep Sea Port is the only operational deep-sea port of its kind. Any port with a draft of less than 16 metres cannot effectively attract the biggest vessels.

“I also witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Ogun State and DP World for the development of a deep-sea port in Ogun State, with a proposed draft of not less than 18 metres.

“We must thank Mr President for ensuring that there is a dedicated Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy,” he added.

Also speaking at the event, the former Osun State governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Oyebamiji, described Oyetola as his boss, leader and mentor.

Oyebamiji prayed for Oyetola’s longevity, good health, grace and continued blessings.

He said “I’m happy to be here this morning to honor my boss,my leader,my mentor on his birthday, my prayer is for the almighty Allah to grant him longevity of life with an abundance of grace and blessings.

“And I want to appreciate the honorable minister for spreading his wealth ,for distribution of his income to people both the indigent and even at least a lot of party members here today so I wish him long life , I pray again that the almighty Allah bestow him good health,” he prayed.