President of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, has said that targeted investments across Nigeria’s blue economy could create more than 500,000 jobs while transforming the country into a major exporter of fisheries products.
Speaking at the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy’s Second Quarter 2026 Citizens’ and Stakeholders’ Engagement in Lagos, Dangote, who was represented by the Managing Director of Dangote Port Operations, Simeon Omole, said Nigeria has significant untapped opportunities within its fisheries value chain that could drive economic diversification, improve food security, and reduce dependence on imports.
According to him, investments spanning aquaculture, hatcheries, fish feed production, seafood processing, cold-chain logistics, and export infrastructure would strengthen domestic fish production while creating employment opportunities across multiple industries.
Dangote noted that Nigeria continues to import fish worth nearly $1 billion annually due to a substantial gap between domestic demand and local production. Closing that deficit through increased private investment, he said, would conserve scarce foreign exchange, enhance local value addition, and improve the country’s trade balance.
He added that the National Policy on Marine and Blue Economy provides a framework for unlocking the sector’s potential, with targets to create three million jobs within its first four years, achieve annual sectoral growth of seven per cent, and ensure that at least half of newly created jobs are reserved for Nigerians aged between 18 and 35.
Dangote identified three critical priorities for accelerating growth in the sector: infrastructure-led industrialisation, development of integrated value chains, and stronger collaboration between government and private investors. He argued that coordinated investments across these areas would help build globally competitive maritime and fisheries industries capable of attracting long-term capital.
He also highlighted the Federal Government’s approval of major deep seaport projects in Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Lagos, and Ondo states, describing them as strategic infrastructure that could stimulate industrial clusters supporting agro-processing, petrochemicals, shipbuilding, maritime logistics, and marine technology.
The expansion of port infrastructure, he said, would improve Nigeria’s export capacity, strengthen regional trade links, and create additional opportunities for manufacturing and logistics businesses operating within the blue economy.
Also speaking at the event, the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, called for closer collaboration among the federal, state and local governments, alongside private sector investors, to accelerate implementation of the National Policy on Marine and Blue Economy.
Oyetola said sustained public-private partnerships would be essential to unlocking investment, improving infrastructure, and positioning Nigeria’s marine resources as a major contributor to economic growth, employment generation, and export earnings.
