Oyetola Defends N10.5bn Ministry’s 2026 Budget Proposal, Says Inadequate Funding Threatening Maritime Reforms

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, yesterday warned that inadequate funding could cripple Nigeria’s maritime reforms, weaken trade efficiency and worsen food insecurity.

He stated this when he defended a N10.5 billion budget proposal for the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy for the 2026 fiscal year.

Oyetola, who appeared before a joint sitting of the Senate Committee on Marine Transport and relevant House of Representatives committees, said the proposed N10,499,984,667.10 allocation was grossly insufficient to deliver the sweeping reforms required in a sector that underpins Nigeria’s trade, logistics and economic competitiveness.

Breaking down the proposal, the minister disclosed that N8.24 billion was earmarked for capital expenditure, N453.86 million for overhead costs, and N1.81 billion for personnel expenses.

According to him, the funding level would barely sustain basic operations and fall far short of what is required to drive growth and transformation in the marine and blue economy.

He noted that the ministry supervises strategic and interconnected subsectors such as ports, shipping, inland waterways, fisheries and aquaculture, which collectively account for over 90 per cent of Nigeria’s international trade by volume and play a critical role in national food and nutrition security.

Oyetola explained that key agencies under the ministry, including the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, were largely self-funding and made substantial remittances to the Consolidated Revenue Fund. 

However, he lamented that excessive deductions at source by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation had severely constrained their liquidity and operational capacity.

He warned that the practice had reduced the ability of these agencies to effectively discharge their mandates in maritime safety, port efficiency and regulatory oversight, leading to port congestion, delayed cargo clearance, rising logistics costs, revenue losses and inflationary pressures. 

“What appears to be an accounting issue has become a major national economic concern,” the minister said.

The minister also raised concern over what he described as a misclassification in the 2026 budget, noting that the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) was wrongly placed under the Federal Ministry of Transportation by the Budget Office, despite being an agency of the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy.

He said the anomaly undermined policy coherence and clarity of oversight across the maritime logistics value chain.

On inland waterways, Oyetola appealed for increased funding to enhance safety and reduce accidents and loss of lives.

He stressed that water transport remained significantly cheaper than road transport globally, but Nigeria continued to rely on road haulage for more than 80 per cent of freight movement. 

This, he said, had accelerated road deterioration and driven up the cost of goods, adding that safer and more efficient inland waterways would ease pressure on roads and lower logistics costs nationwide.

Turning to fisheries and aquaculture, the minister disclosed that Nigeria’s annual fish demand of over 3.6 million metric tonnes far exceeded domestic production of about 1.4 million metric tonnes, sustaining imports valued at more than $1 billion annually. 

He added that post-harvest losses of up to 30 per cent further reduced supply, despite fish being one of the cheapest sources of animal protein for Nigerian households. 

Oyetola assured lawmakers that the ministry was intensifying efforts to boost local production and reduce dependence on imports.

He further revealed that in 2025, the ministry’s revised capital budget of N3.53 billion recorded an actual cash release of just N202.47 million, representing about 1.7 per cent, while overhead releases stood at 35 per cent. 

The shortfall, he said, significantly hampered project execution and service delivery.

Oyetola said the ministry was engaging the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning to address funding gaps in line with the federal government’s economic diversification agenda, anchored on the marine and blue economy.

In his response, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Marine Transport, Senator Wasiu Eshinlokun, assured the minister that the National Assembly would critically examine the proposals, noting that the marine and blue economy was central to Nigeria’s long-term development and economic resilience.