By David Owei<\/p>\n
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, Senator Neda Imasuen (Edo South), has described the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway as a game-changer that will unlock Nigeria\u2019s Blue Economy corridor and create new opportunities for littoral communities.<\/p>\n
Senator Imasuen made the remark on Wednesday in Abuja when the Founder and Convener of the Africa Blue Economy Roundtable (ABER), Dr. Piriye Kiyaramo, led a delegation on a courtesy visit to his office at the National Assembly.<\/p>\n
He commended ABER\u2019s advocacy for a community-owned Blue Economy and pledged to study its proposal for the establishment of a Nigeria Senate Blue Economy Caucus (NSBEC).<\/p>\n
Presenting the proposal, Dr. Kiyaramo said that despite Nigeria\u2019s 853km coastline, over 3 million artisanal fisherfolk and an estimated $70 billion annual Blue Economy potential, the country still lacks a dedicated parliamentary mechanism to legislate, coordinate, budget and provide oversight for the sector.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe lose $2.3 billion annually to illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. We lose mangroves and young lives at sea. Without law, there is no Blue Economy; there is only blue anarchy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Dr. Kiyaramo noted that the proposed Caucus is modelled after the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), which governs Lake Victoria for seven countries.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf EALA can govern Lake Victoria, the Nigerian Senate can govern the Gulf of Guinea front,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n
He said the NSBEC is anchored on ABER\u2019s vision of a connected, competitive and community-owned Blue Economy where no fisherfolk is left behind.<\/p>\n
According to him, the Caucus, when established, could canvass for the Domestication of the AU Blue Economy Strategy, the Lom\u00e9 Charter, ILO Convention C188 and the FAO Port State Measures Agreement; Legislation and enforcement of the 5-nautical-mile Artisanal Exclusive Zone;
\nAllocation of at least 10% of marine revenue to artisanal infrastructure; and Rallying South-South States to establish Ministries of Marine and Blue Economy, emulating the Bayelsa model.<\/p>\n
Proposed Structure<\/p>\n
Kiyaramo recommended a 23-member Caucus comprising two Senators each from Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo and Rivers (12), plus Lagos, Ondo and Ogun (6), three non-littoral experts, and two ex-officio members from the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy and ABER as Technical Secretariat. Senator Imasuen is proposed as Chairman and Patron, with a minimum 35% women representation.<\/p>\n
Four Standing Sub-Committees are proposed: Fisheries, Aquaculture and Blue Food Security; Blue Tourism, Marine Transport and Coastal Infrastructure; Blue Justice, Human Rights and Gender \u2013 to work with the International Human Rights Protection Service (IHRPS Forum) West Africa Envoy to track violations, provide legal aid, ensure women\u2019s cold-chain ownership and enforce Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC); and Blue Carbon, Mangroves and Climate Resilience \u2013 with 70% of benefits accruing to coastal communities.<\/p>\n
The Caucus is also expected to initiate three landmark Bills: the National Blue Economy Act, the Artisanal Fisheries Protection and 5nm Enforcement Act, and the Blue Carbon and Mangrove Protection Act, while partnering with EALA, the ECOWAS Parliament and the Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Africa (DTCA).<\/p>\n
90-Day Action Plan<\/p>\n
Dr. Kiyaramo further proposed a 90-day take-off plan including inauguration by the Senate President, engagement with the South-South Governors Forum, a Public Hearing on the Blue Justice Gap and unveiling of 100 Bankable Blue Deals, and a Senate Motion on ILO C188 ratification and 5nm enforcement.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Caucus will harmonize blue laws, redirect IUU losses to community jobs and position Nigeria to lead the ECOWAS Blue Parliamentary Network,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike EALA governs Lake Victoria for seven countries, NSBEC can govern the Gulf of Guinea for Nigeria. History will not remember us for the oil we extracted, but for the ocean we preserved.\u201d<\/p>\n
The high point of the visit was the decoration of Senator Neda Imasuen as Patron of the Africa Blue Economy Roundtable by H.E. Dr. Mrs. Ezeadili Appolonia Obiageri. Hajiya Medina Dauda Nadabo, Director of Communication and Public Affairs of ABER, was part of the Convener\u2019s entourage. <\/p>\n
Signed:
\nMedina Dauda Nadabo Director Communications Public Affairs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By David Owei The Chairman, Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, Senator Neda Imasuen (Edo South), has described the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway as a game-changer that will unlock Nigeria\u2019s Blue Economy corridor and create new opportunities for littoral communities. Senator Imasuen made the remark on Wednesday in Abuja when the Founder and Convener […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19562,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-economy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19561","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19561"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19561\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19563,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19561\/revisions\/19563"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19562"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}