Omo, dis Oyetola don drop one serious palava wey concern our marine budget for 2026 o! E talk say dem wan use N10,499,984,667.10 for the whole fiscal year, but e no reach wetin dem need to really make things dey move for ports and wetin concern marine o.
For one statement, he dey gist us say di budget wey split into N8.24 billion for capital wahala, N453.86 million for overhead, and N1.81 billion for personnel matter go just help dem manage small small. E no fit deliver any real change or growth for di maritime sector, wey dey control plenty businesses wey dey handle over 90% of dis country international trade.
Oyetola no dey sleep for wetin dey happen as he come lahk say di Nigerian Ports Authority and di rest dey try hustle money, but all di deductions wey dem dey take from dem dey spoil everything. Dem dey face wahala wey dey cause congestion for ports, increase cost, and even wahala for delivering cargo. E don turn im from just accounting issue to something wey fit affect di whole economy.
Na so e come dey yarn about di budget for di Council for di Regulation of Freight Forwarding wey dem put under di wrong ministry. Na so dem waka go di Ministry of Transportation while e suppose dey under di Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy. Omo, na this kind misalignment dey cause wahala for oversight and policy for our maritime affairs!
Oyetola no stop for there, he dey appeal for more funding to fix di inland waterways and make transport matter beta. Na wetin make am talk say water transport dey cheaper than di road, yet na only 80% of freight dey move by road wey dey worsen all di road wahala and plenty money for logistics.
For fisheries level, e don provide for us say Nigeria dey demand over 3.6 million metric tonnes of fish yearly, but wetin e dey produce no reach 1.4 million metric tonnes. Dis one cause wey we dey import fish worth over $1 billion every year. Na correct time wey dem dey work to boost local production make fish dey affordable for di common man.
Oyetola don share say for 2025, di ministry budget wey dem revise come turn just N3.53 billion, and na only N202.47 million dem fit release. Can you see ehn, na just 1.7% of di budget! Dem dey beg Ministry of Budget make dem help find way to fix di gaps, so we fit see better growth in di marine and blue economy sector.
As di minister dey talk, stakeholders dey shout say dis inadequate funding don dey affect di whole maritime agency. Frequent boat accidents and di way we dey rely on fish imports don really show sey we need more funding to make things better for di inland waterways and aquaculture matter. Omokunrin, if we no find way to make budget dey work, growth go remain for far end.
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