By Patrick Titus, Uyo
Mehdi Jomaa, the former Prime Minister of Tunisia has said that Nigeria and Tunisia are blessed with maritime potentials, that partnering with each other would help in the development of the sector.
Jomaa who was speaking during the 2026 Niger Delta Investment Summit, held at Four Points by Sheraton Hotel in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State today (Tuesday), said the enormous challenges faced by both countries in the sector also have enormous opportunities.
The summit with the theme: “Harnessing the blue economy potentials for sustainable development of the Niger Delta” was put together by Dr. Uche Igwe, a communication expert and co-convener of the Summit.
“I do believe, in the capacity of Africans to build a nice future. We are at this point where there is a reconfiguration of the world, and it’s time to wake up, to stand up, and to walk for the future, to prepare the future.
“The Maritime sector is one of the areas where we can hope for the best growth in the continent, You know, It’s easy and difficult at the same. Let’s have a look on the successful countries and what they did. We will not go through the details, but I can summarize it in a few words.
‘”Firstly, is to get a real vision of what we want to do, have a direction rather than focusing only on checking the daily troubles.. This is important because without direction in whatever you do, even though you have the best boat in the world, you can miss the direction.
“So it’s important to have the vision, but it’s not enough without vision because without it, we cannot do anything.
“But we can miss our target if we don’t have a vision. When you have a vision you have to dedicate the right team for the implementation. We have all the ingredients here. We have young people.
“You have a large market, you have a good elite, and you are aware of the situation and what to do. So that’s the successful case,” Jomaa said.
In his remarks, Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom said the lack of investors was responsible for the seeming delay in the commencement of the Ibom Deep Seaport project.
The Governor, who was represented by the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Uko Udom explained that all the regulations, certifications and approvals required for the project have been met, and roads leading to the seaport proper was already under construction.
“Ibom Deep Seaport is not going to be a white elephant thing. I can assure you that the work has gone very far. We’ve done all the regulatory imperatives that are on the ground.
“We have all the certifications, all the approvals required and the roads under construction, to lead to the seaport proper. This is the most natural seaport you can ever have in Nigeria. There’ll be no dredging of any sort.
“Originally, the Navy wanted to use it as the headquarters of the Eastern Naval Command, but I don’t know what happened. We thank God they didn’t use it, because it will serve the entire region more as a deep seaport to direct traffic away from the congestion of Lagos and deal with Central African Republic as well as the hinterlands of Nigeria.
“We will work very hard to ensure it happens. It’s an investment that can only happen if we attract foreign investment in the course of building deep Seaport. Not only Nigeria as a nation can do it alone. We are still working to attract investors in that regard and I’m sure it will work out,” he stated.
While speaking, the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas described the summit as strategic and timely as the blue economy was pivotal to the nation’s pursuit of a diversified economy.
Abbas who was represented by Rear Admiral Sunday Atakpa at the event noted that the sustainable development of the Niger Delta was connected to the effective governance and security of nigeria’s maritime domain.
He said that the Nigerian Navy established the International Maritime Institute of Nigeria in June 2024 to drive the knowledge base for blue economy in Nigeria.
