By Victoria Onehi
The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola has reiterated his desire to increase local production of fqish, while reducing dependence on importation.
The Minister stated this yesterday when he defied the torrential rain in Lagos on Thursday morning and embarked on the tour of two key institutions that were recently brought under his ministry — the Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research (NIOMR) and the Liason office of the Department of Fishery and Aquaculture, which houses College of Fishery, Lagos.
His first port of call was NIOMR, where the Chief Executive of the institute, Prof. Abiodun Sule, took the Minister through some of its strategic breakthroughs, including unveiling some of the different species of fish in our waters.
The Minister in a statement charged the Institute to take up the challenge of mapping out the country’s various marine resources, saying the country needs to know what it has and in what quantity.
The Minister reiterated his desire to increase local production of fish, while reducing dependence on importation. Also,he charged the staff to redouble their efforts and ensure they find solution to the rising cost of fish feeds in Nigeria.
From the Institute, Oyetola and his entourage, which included the Permanent Secretary, Oloruntola Olufemi; Director, Maritime Safety and Security, Babatunde Bombata, and the Executive Director, Engineering and Technical Services, Engr. Ibrahim Umar, who represented the the MD of NPA, headed for the Department of Fishery and Aquaculture, where the delegation inspected the Labouratory and charged the staff not to lower the standard of monitoring and inspection so as to ensure the country’s exporters are not blacklisted by the International community and also ensuring that those being imported meet required standard.
He assured the staff of both institutions of his commitment to their welfare, while urging them to also increase their capacity and productivity, as he wants to see fishing contribute to job creation and increase in revenue of the FG.
The elated members of staff promised the Minister not to let him down and pledged their commitment to the vision and mission of the Minister with respect to the maritime sector.
