{"id":17178,"date":"2026-11-13T17:47:37","date_gmt":"2026-11-13T17:47:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/2026\/11\/13\/tinubu-flags-off-bakassi-deep-seaport-says-project-will-redefine-nigerias-maritime-economy-businessday-ng\/"},"modified":"2026-11-13T17:47:37","modified_gmt":"2026-11-13T17:47:37","slug":"tinubu-flags-off-bakassi-deep-seaport-says-project-will-redefine-nigerias-maritime-economy-businessday-ng","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/2026\/11\/13\/tinubu-flags-off-bakassi-deep-seaport-says-project-will-redefine-nigerias-maritime-economy-businessday-ng\/","title":{"rendered":"Tinubu flags off Bakassi Deep Seaport, says project will redefine Nigeria’s maritime economy – Businessday NG"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2026Otu hails historic milestone; Oyetola projects massive investment<\/strong><\/em>\n<\/p>\n

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has described the groundbreaking of the Bakassi Deep Seaport as a defining milestone in Nigeria\u2019s economic diversification and said it was a strategic national investment.\n<\/p>\n

Represented by Kashim Shettima, his Vice President, at the ceremony in Bakassi on Friday, November 13, 2026, the President said the port would open new commercial corridors, stimulate industrialisation and create jobs.\n<\/p>\n

He commended Governor Bassey Edet Otu and the people of Cross River for sustaining the vision and advancing it towards actualisation.\n<\/p>\n

Tinubu recalled that the project was conceived in 2014, with an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment developed in March 2015, before receiving renewed impetus under Otu.<\/p>\n

Designed as a 20-metre-draft facility, the port is expected to accommodate large vessels that currently bypass Nigerian ports. It is also linked to a 260-kilometre superhighway to move cargo to markets across the country. He credited Otu\u2019s determination with helping to overcome institutional and financial obstacles, including efforts to secure a $3.5 billion Afreximbank financing arrangement and formalise the PPP framework in February 2025.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is beyond a Cross River dream. It is a Nigerian project. It is a poverty breaker,\u201d he declared.\n<\/p>\n

He stressed that the port would complement, not undermine, Lagos. \u201cLagos is not our enemy. Lagos is our elder brother in trade. No country eats with one hand. No country carries all its loads on one shoulder. That shoulder will break,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n

More than 80 per cent of Nigeria\u2019s foreign trade, he noted, passes through Lagos, contributing to congestion and rising costs. A second major maritime gateway, he argued, would strengthen the national economy: \u201cWhen Calabar works, Nigeria works on two legs.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

The President said Nigeria had not fully exploited its Gulf of Guinea coastline, while neighbouring countries benefited from trade Nigerian ports could attract. The Bakassi project, he maintained, would help retain regional cargo, expand international market access and strengthen the country\u2019s maritime competitiveness.<\/p>\n

Read also:\u00a0NIMASA unveils new drones, armoured vehicles to strengthen maritime security<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

Tinubu further observed that roughly 90 per cent of cargo moves by sea, yet Nigeria handles only a fraction of regional cargo trade despite its economic weight in West Africa.\n<\/p>\n

The port, he said, would help close that gap, reduce dependence on a single gateway and position the country to capture a greater share of maritime commerce.\n<\/p>\n

He acknowledged the territorial and economic losses Cross River suffered following the Bakassi peninsula ruling and the loss of oil revenue, but said these setbacks had not diminished the people\u2019s courage, hospitality or resilience.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThe peninsula was not the end of your story, but the beginning of your next chapter,\u201d he declared, urging residents to protect the project from political interference and regard it as an inheritance for future generations.<\/p>\n

Bassey Otu, the state governor, in his speech, hailed the groundbreaking and credited President Tinubu\u2019s Renewed Hope Agenda with providing the decisive federal support that revived the project.\n<\/p>\n

He said political, administrative, legal and environmental challenges had stalled implementation until Tinubu\u2019s plan to expand and upgrade maritime corridors created a fresh opportunity for Cross River.\n<\/p>\n

Lauding Tinubu for guiding the state through the processes leading to the Certificate of Compliance and final federal approval, Otu described him as \u201ca bastion of economic diversification and social equity.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

He recalled Calabar\u2019s long maritime heritage, saying the new facility would reinforce Cross River\u2019s established littoral status.\n<\/p>\n

He said the project\u2019s approval and delivery demonstrated the value of cooperation between the federal and state governments.<\/p>\n

The governor said the state had completed preparatory work, including an Environmental Impact Assessment and hydrographic, geotechnical and geophysical surveys, and secured federal approvals.\n<\/p>\n

The project is to be delivered through a Public-Private Partnership arrangement, with an initial funding approval of $2.27 billion. He said logistics, trade, fishing, shipping, tourism and shipbuilding would benefit, positioning Cross River as a Gulf of Guinea maritime hub.\n<\/p>\n

The surveys, he added, exposed flaws in the 1903 navigational charts, which the Federal Government replaced on October 1, 2026, affirming the state\u2019s littoral status.\n<\/p>\n

Otu disclosed that selected Cross Riverians were undergoing specialised training for construction and operational roles, with knowledge transfer planned.\n<\/p>\n

He pointed to the state\u2019s three-way economic corridor, the airport, seaport and Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, to facilitate cargo movement and attract investors.<\/p>\n

He invited investors in maritime and related industries to take advantage of the project\u2019s prospects and the state\u2019s investment-friendly environment, including a one-stop investment hub and tax incentives. He described the economic possibilities as boundless and called on development partners to help build a resilient economy.\n<\/p>\n

In his goodwill remarks, the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr Gboyega Oyetola, praised Tinubu\u2019s efforts to unlock Nigeria\u2019s maritime potential, citing the creation of the Ministry in 2023 and approval of the country\u2019s first National Policy on Marine and Blue Economy.\n<\/p>\n

Oyetola disclosed that revenue generated by agencies under the Ministry rose from N700.79 billion in 2023 to N1.83 trillion in 2025, attributing the increase to improved revenue assurance and the closure of leakages.\n<\/p>\n

He also cited the elimination of piracy in Nigerian waters, approval for modernisation of the six legacy seaports, stronger port governance through the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Act, and Nigeria\u2019s election to the decision-making Council of the International Maritime Organization after almost two decades.\n<\/p>\n

He also cited the lifting of United States Coast Guard restrictions on Nigerian-bound vessels in August 2026, release of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund to shipowners and growth in fish production from 1.1 million to 1.4 million tonnes. He said Bakassi would improve market access and create industrial, investment and employment opportunities.<\/p>\n

Its integration with the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, he stressed, would enhance commercial viability and extend benefits across Cross River, the South-South and the wider Nigerian economy.\n<\/p>\n

Oyetola pledged the Ministry\u2019s support for a modern, efficient and environmentally sustainable port. He described the seaport as an important instrument for translating Nigeria\u2019s maritime advantages into sustainable growth.\n<\/p>\n

The Minister said the groundbreaking marks a shift in Nigeria\u2019s maritime geography, offering Cross River the prospect of converting its coastal location and heritage into investment, jobs and sustained economic activity, while helping Nigeria diversify its economy, ease pressure on existing ports and strengthen its role in regional trade.<\/p>\n

\n

Related News<\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIfeoma Okeke-Korieocha<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha is the Aviation Correspondent at BusinessDay Media Limited, publishers of BusinessDay Newspapers.
\n
\nShe is also the Deputy Editor, BusinessDay Weekender Magazine, the Saturday Weekend edition of BusinessDay.
\n
\nShe holds a BSC in Mass Communication from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a Masters degree in Marketing at the University of Lagos.
\n
\nAs the lead writer on the aviation desk, Ifeoma is responsible and in charge of the three weekly aviation and travel pages in BusinessDay and BDSunday. She also overseas and edits all pages of BusinessDay Saturday Weekender.
\n
\nShe has written various investigative, features and news stories in aviation and business related issues and has been severally nominated for award in the category of Aviation Writer of the Year by the Nigeria Media Nite-Out awards; one of the Nigeria\u2019s most prestigious media awards ceremonies.
\n
\nIfeoma is a one-time winner of the
\nprestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award under the ‘Aviation Writer of the Year’ Category.
\n
\nShe is the 2025 Eloy Award winner under the Print Media Journalist category.
\n
\nShe has undergone several journalism trainings by various prestigious organisations.
\n
\nIfeoma is also a fellow of the Female Reporters Leadership Fellowship of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Businessday NG<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2026Otu hails historic milestone; Oyetola projects massive investment President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has described the groundbreaking of the Bakassi Deep Seaport as a defining milestone in Nigeria\u2019s economic diversification and… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17179,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17178"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17178\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}