Marine and Blue Economy Minister Adegboyega Oyetola has said the federal government had approved the development of additional deep seaports across Nigeria to strengthen supply chain resilience and position the country as the preferred maritime and logistics hub for West and Central Africa, speaking at the opening of the Port Management Association of West and Central Africa’s mid-year board session in Lagos.
Oyetola said coordinated policy interventions and stronger inter-agency collaboration had significantly reduced logistics bottlenecks at major seaports, improving cargo evacuation, reducing vessel waiting times, and creating a more predictable business environment for port users and investors. He described the National Single Window initiative as a landmark reform streamlining cargo clearance through digital integration of government agencies and port operations.
He said the Deep Blue Project had eliminated piracy in Nigerian waters and drastically reduced maritime crimes across the Gulf of Guinea, restoring investor confidence and strengthening the region’s attractiveness as a secure maritime corridor.
Nigerian Ports Authority Managing Director and PMAWCA President Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho said West and Central Africa was witnessing a major resurgence in maritime infrastructure investment with more than $27 billion worth of port projects underway or recently announced across the sub-region, and said ports must evolve beyond their traditional cargo gateway role to drive broader blue economy growth across renewable marine energy, aquaculture, sustainable fisheries, coastal tourism, and marine biotechnology.
