Steve Agbota

Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, has called for concerted effort by stakeholders towards the development of coastal and maritime tourism in Nigeria, saying when fully harnessed, the sector can contribute greatly to the economy. 

 Dakuku disclosed this while receiving an award at the 2nd edition of the National Tourism and Transport Summit held at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, with the theme, “Tourism and Transportation Inter-dependencies for Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development.”

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Dakuku charged stakeholders and investors to tap into the huge opportunities in maritime tourism, which is a crucial part of the blue economy. He assured potential investors that NIMASA would help to create an enabling environment for their businesses to thrive.

The DG urged coastal states to follow the example of Lagos in making conscious efforts to harness their maritime potential.   

Dakuku, who was represented by the Executive Director, Finance and Administration, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, explained that with Nigeria’s maritime endowments, maritime tourism could be a major revenue earner and huge contributor to the government’s economic diversification agenda. While the tourism potential in other aspects of the economy are being maximised to a reasonable extent, the potential of coastal and maritime tourism in Nigeria remains grossly under-tapped,” Dakuku stated. He challenged coastal states in the country to emulate Lagos, saying it is the only state that has shown substantial commitment towards developing maritime tourism as a critical pillar of its economic development.According to him, with a coastline of about 852km and an inland waterways of over 8,000 km, Nigeria has the natural habitat to grow its maritime tourism industry to be one of the biggest in the sub-region.