A chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the immediate past Director General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside has given reasons why the Blue Economy Group was inaugurated.
Apart from Peterside, other members of the group include the Chairperson, Hajia Lami Tumaka; Executive Director, Mr. Ojiji Oriri Onya; Executive Director, Mr. Suleiman Adama; Alhaji Dikko Bala; HRM Muhammed Munir Jaffa; Mr. Temisan Omatseye; Senator Grace Folashade Bent; Mrs. Jean Chaizor Anishere, SAN; Commodore Daniel Atakpa; and Chief Michael Onuoha.
Speaking at the formal inauguration of the group recently, Peterside who was hitherto his appointment as the NIMASA helmsman was a member of the lower chamber of the National Assembly, maintained that the idea of setting up the group was hinged on the fact that government cannot do it alone.
He explained that the group was born out of the need to help unlock what he called “the benefits inherent in the deep blue economy” in the country.
He argued that achieving the vision of a vibrant blue economy and the sustainable development can only be attain with the active collaboration with the private sector and stakeholders in the maritime industry.
The former NIMASA helmsman stated that the responsibility of optimizing the benefits of the blue economy is a shared between the government, private sector, civil society, communities, professionals and other actors just as he pointed out that a robust partnership with all actors has proven to be the master key to unlocking the line benefits of sustainable development across the globe.
According to him, some government agencies, multi-lateral and financial institutions have already expressed willingness to partner with the group to advance the beneficial impact of blue economy.
The Chairperson of the Deep Blue Economy Group, Hajia Lami Tumaka in her remarks stated that the group is the culmination of what she called “the enormous collective efforts” of the innovative Board of Directors of a firm called Blue Economy Resources Nigeria Limited.
Tumaka who worked closely with Peterside when he was the Director General of NIMASA revealed that the company is in business to provide be-spoke innovations tailored towards facilitating maritime business-friendly solutions to the challenges in the emerging blue economy sector of the country.
Her words: “The Group is the culmination of the enormous collective efforts of the innovative Board of Directors of our company, the Blue Economy Resources Nigeria Limited which began some months ago. It is a private company registered under the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. As you may be aware, our company is in business to provide be-spoke innovations tailored towards facilitating maritime business-friendly solutions to the challenges in the emerging blue economy sector of Nigeria.
“To this end, we are poised to be Nigeria’s leading blue economy business anchor with our focus on the efficiency of our maritime policies/laws, blue economy capacity building, strategic public-private partnerships in cargo afreightment, infrastructure development, marine environment management, inter-modal transportation, marine bio-technology, ocean energy and increased indigenous Cabotage participation”.
Continuing, Tumaka who is known for her knack to get things done no matter how tough said: “It is for the realization of the above corporate objectives that the Board considered and approved the constitution of a Coordinating Group with proven track records of achievement drawn from various fields across the maritime sector.
“The group is working with the Board of Directors as advisors and partners to among others bring the Blue Economy Advocacy to the front burner of government, the organized private sector and critical stakeholders”.
