By ebosele@hotmail.com
The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr. Adegboyega Oyetola, on Monday flagged off the Mid-Year Session of the Board of Directors of the Port Management Association of West and Central Africa (PMAWCA) in Lagos.
City Business News reports that the
theme for this session, “Ports of the Future: Combining Logistical Resilience with Inclusive Community Development,” highlights Nigeria’s expanding port capacity and implementing major maritime reforms to become the leading trade and logistics hub in West and Central Africa.
The Minister stated that approvals have been granted for additional deep seaports to strengthen supply chain resilience. President Tinubu’s administration is modernising ports through infrastructure upgrades, digital transformation, and the landmark National Single Window initiative. Existing ports will get channel deepening to attract larger vessels while the Deep Blue Project has eliminated piracy and restored investor confidence in the Gulf of Guinea.
The Managing Director NPA & PMAWCA President, Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho in his welcome address highlighted that the West & Central Africa is seeing over $27 billion in port projects, including Simandou-Morebaya ($20B, Guinea), Port San Pedro ($2B, Côte d’Ivoire), Lekki Deep Sea Port ($1.5B), and major upgrades at Apapa, Tin Can Island plus $600M APM Terminals investment.
Ports must evolve beyond cargo handling into drivers of the blue economy — renewable marine energy, aquaculture, sustainable fisheries, coastal tourism and marine biotechnology.
The event runs 18–20 May 2026 with high-level attendees including Gov. Kefas Agbu of Taraba State, President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, and Special Adviser to the President on Policy Coordination, Hadiza Bala Usman and others.
