By Foster Obi
The Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy has taken a significant step in its digital reform initiative with the launch of an Enterprise Content Management System (ECMS), designed to enhance transparency, efficiency, and service delivery across the sector.
This was contained in a statement signed by Dr. Bolaji Akinola, Special Adviser to the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy.
According to the statement, the platform was unveiled on Wednesday in Abuja by the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr. Adegboyega Oyetola, alongside the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, at the Ministry’s Fourth Quarter 2025 Stakeholders and Citizens Engagement held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel.
The engagement, which drew regulators, private sector operators, investors, and development partners from across the marine and blue economy value chain, was held under the theme, “Positioning Nigeria’s Marine and Blue Economy for Investment, Innovation and Expansion: The Pathway.”
Speaking at the event, Oyetola described the launch of the ECMS as a critical pillar of the Ministry’s institutional reform agenda and a practical expression of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“A digitally enabled Ministry is a more responsive Ministry,” the Minister said. “Through the ECMS, we are streamlining workflows, strengthening records management, improving decision-making, and enhancing our capacity to support investors, operators, and partners with speed, clarity, and integrity.”
He said the stakeholder engagement was deliberately designed to deepen transparency, accountability, and shared ownership of reforms, as the Federal Government works to reposition the marine and blue economy as a driver of economic diversification, growth, and global competitiveness.
Highlighting the sector’s potential, Oyetola noted that Nigeria’s long coastline, extensive inland waterways, and strategic location offer vast opportunities in maritime trade, fisheries, aquaculture, logistics, tourism, and allied services, with significant implications for job creation and regional integration.
The Minister outlined key gains recorded by the Ministry over the past year, particularly in fisheries and aquaculture, where local fish production rose from 1.1 million metric tonnes to 1.4 million metric tonnes. While acknowledging that the figure remains below Nigeria’s annual consumption level of about 3.6 million tonnes, he said the improvement reflected targeted interventions, better coordination, and increased use of technology.
He also disclosed that the Ministry has begun engagements with financial institutions to provide single-digit interest loans for fishermen across the country, a move aimed at boosting productivity, expanding access to affordable finance, and tackling illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.
On the international front, Oyetola said Nigeria’s election into Category C of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), as well as its emergence as Chairman of the Conference of Ministers of the Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea, signalled renewed global confidence in the country’s maritime governance and policy direction.
According to him, the Ministry’s reform efforts have also attracted positive national recognition, including a 96 per cent performance rating by the Central Results Delivery Coordination Unit, favourable assessments by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council, and recent National Bureau of Statistics data ranking water transportation among the five fastest-growing sectors of the economy.
In her remarks, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Walson-Jack, praised the Ministry for what she described as far-reaching reforms, particularly the successful deployment of the ECMS.
She said the platform would support paperless governance, improve records management, and significantly reduce bureaucratic delays within the Ministry, while aligning it with the broader digital transformation agenda of the Federal Civil Service.
“The ECMS will strengthen institutional memory, enhance accountability, and promote faster, more efficient service delivery,” she said.
Stakeholders at the event reaffirmed their commitment to supporting the growth and sustainability of Nigeria’s marine and blue economy, describing the reforms as timely and critical to unlocking investment and innovation in the sector.
Picture: The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr. Adegboyega Oyetola, and the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack arriving for the launch.
