<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Sea Empowerment and Research Centre (SEREC)<\/strong> has urged policymakers and industry stakeholders to establish a clearer and more effective framework for managing Nigeria\u2019s maritime-linked revenues<\/strong>, particularly those generated through international trade and port activities administered by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a statement signed by SEREC\u2019s Head of Research, Mr. Eugene Nweke<\/strong>, the group emphasized that customs revenue derived from seaborne trade already contributes multi-trillion-naira inflows to the Federation Account<\/strong> and should be better consolidated and optimised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n SEREC\u2019s appeal follows a professional review of commentary by maritime law expert Dr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN)<\/strong>, who projects that Nigeria could unlock up to \u20a670 trillion annually<\/strong> from the maritime and blue economy through decisive policy, institutional, and operational reforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The group stressed that while the maritime and blue economy is one of the nation\u2019s most promising economic frontiers, existing revenue streams remain fragmented, under-optimised, and weakened by enforcement and coordination gaps<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n SEREC welcomed ongoing modernisation initiatives within the NCS<\/strong>, including deployment of digital trade platforms, advanced cargo information systems, and enhanced risk-management frameworks, which are expected to improve compliance, reduce leakages, and boost revenue yields.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The statement also highlighted opportunities presented by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)<\/strong>, noting that increased cargo volumes, port throughput, transshipment activity, and regional trade facilitation could further expand maritime revenue streams if port and border processes remain competitive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n SEREC underlined that the recently approved National Policy on Marine and Blue Economy (2025\u20132034)<\/strong> provides a comprehensive reform framework, covering port modernisation, inland waterways development, cabotage enforcement, maritime security, technology adoption, and local content deepening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The group concluded that coherent, coordinated, and accountable implementation<\/strong> of these reforms is critical to unlocking significant additional revenue from maritime activities and driving broader economic growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n December 25, 2025 \u2014 Source: PUNCH<\/em> (punchng.com)<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Sea Empowerment and Research Centre (SEREC) has urged policymakers and industry stakeholders to establish a clearer and more effective framework for managing Nigeria\u2019s maritime-linked revenues, particularly those generated through international trade and port activities administered by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS). In a statement signed by SEREC\u2019s Head of Research, Mr. Eugene Nweke, the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1274,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/seaempowerment.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1386"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/seaempowerment.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/seaempowerment.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seaempowerment.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seaempowerment.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1386"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/seaempowerment.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1386\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1387,"href":"https:\/\/seaempowerment.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1386\/revisions\/1387"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seaempowerment.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/seaempowerment.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seaempowerment.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seaempowerment.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1386"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seaempowerment.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fpost_folder&post=1386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}