Adegboyega Oyetola, the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, has revealed intentions to dramatically increase its contribution to the national economy, with a target of N2 trillion annually by 2027.
This was revealed by Oyetola on Tuesday during the ongoing ministerial briefing in Abuja. He presented a three-pronged strategy intended to maximize efficiency and money production.
By combining income leakage prevention, revenue enhancement from existing sources, and new revenue stream identification, the approach seeks to double the present revenue generation within the next three years.
The minister said its first focus was to eliminate inefficiencies in revenue collection.
He stressed that his focus was “automation of revenue collection processes to eliminate bottlenecks and enhance transparency and accountability. Deploying revenue assurance technologies to ensure accurate and complete billings in line with established contracts and services rendered.
He added, “These technologies will help us align billings with established contracts and services rendered, ensuring no revenue slips through the cracks.”
The second plan point—maximizing the use of current resources and assets—was highlighted by the minister.
He emphasized that studies on revenue development would be commissioned by the ministry, with a concentration on its various divisions and organizations.
In his words, the government is dedicated to making sure that the country’s resources are used effectively through concessions and other public-private partnerships.
Assuring the efficient use of current assets through concessions to the private sector and public-private partnerships as needed, as well as investment promotion campaigns aimed at luring both domestic and foreign investors for investments in the marine and blue economy sub-sectors, were among the priorities he listed. The last part of the plan, he pointed out, is to find and create new revenue streams inside the blue economy.
To achieve this, he said, includes running investment promotion programs that are aimed at both domestic and foreign investors.