Six prominent journalists were on Saturday honoured for their outstanding contributions to the growth and development of Nigeria's maritime sector at the TransQuest 21st Anniversary and Transport Development Symposium held in Lagos.
The award recipients were Dele Aderibigbe of Maritime First Newspaper, Moses Ebosele of City Business News, Kemi Dauda of The Nation Newspaper, Bayo Komolafe of New Telegraph, Jerry Aguigba of Today News and Yusuf Babalola of Leadership Newspaper.
The symposium, themed "Re-Appraising Nigeria's Blue Economy: Charting a Path to Sustainable Growth," brought together key maritime stakeholders to deliberate on strategies for accelerating sustainable growth in Nigeria's blue economy.
The event was held at Shoregate Hotel, Ikeja GRA, Lagos, under the chairmanship of retired Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs, Charles Eporwei Edike, while the panel session was moderated by veteran maritime journalist, Elder Asu Beks.
City Business News reports that the symposium attracted leading figures in the maritime industry, including renowned maritime technocrat and President of the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA), Lucky Amiwero; logistics expert, Dr. Eugene Nweke; Head of Research at Sea Empowerment and Research Center (SEREC); and former President of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), among other stakeholders.
In his welcome address, the host, Felix Kumuyi, described the blue economy as one of Nigeria's most promising frontiers for economic diversification, employment generation and sustainable national development.
According to him, beyond ports and shipping activities, Nigeria possesses enormous untapped wealth in its oceans, inland waterways, fisheries, aquaculture, marine tourism, coastal resources, renewable marine energy and maritime services.
He noted that the establishment of the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy demonstrates the Federal Government's recognition of the sector's vast potential.
"However, creating institutions is only the beginning. The real challenge lies in developing coherent policies, modern infrastructure, efficient port systems, robust maritime security, environmental sustainability, human capacity development and an investment-friendly regulatory environment capable of unlocking the sector's full value," Kumuyi said.
Participants at the symposium stressed the need for sustained collaboration among government agencies, private sector operators and industry professionals to fully harness the opportunities within the blue economy and position the maritime sector as a major driver of Nigeria's economic growth.
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