Delivering a keynote address titled “Sub-National Leadership in Advancing Nigeria’s Maritime and Blue Economy: The Bayelsa Experience and Pathways for Coastal State Development,” the governor noted that although Nigeria boasts more than 850 kilometres of coastline, the waterways are located within the country’s coastal states, making their active participation essential to unlocking the sector’s full potential.
He also advocated securing and mapping maritime assets, investing in coastal security and reliable ocean data, establishing maritime skills development hubs, modernising fish processing facilities, expanding cold storage infrastructure and linking coastal producers to national and international value chains.
Diri said Bayelsa had already taken significant steps in that direction by becoming the first state in Nigeria to establish a full-fledged Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy in 2024, following the creation of the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy by President Bola Tinubu in 2023.
“To ignore the blue economy in Bayelsa would be to ignore Bayelsa itself. That is why, following the initiative of the Federal Government, Bayelsa is not merely a state with a bespoke ministry; we are a national model for how to institutionalise and mainstream the blue economy at the sub-national level,” he said.