Definitely, that is how it should be because we have Ministry of Aviation and some other Ministries that do not add to the GDP of the country. So, I agree that the maritime industry is not suppose to be under any ministry because it is very wide that it entails a lot of things but when the ministry is created, it will allow for closeness of the maritime industry to the President because the Minister is believed to be closer to the President and with that, they will feel the pain of stakeholders in the Ministry and attend to a lot of challenges we are facing in the industry.
Mustapha Lukman
The way the maritime industry is run now is as if we do not have someone representing us at the Presidency. But when we have a special Ministry, there will be someone that will be closer to the industry to speak for the industry in the Federal Executive Council. For instance, some of the policies implemented in the sector need the supervision of a top government member like Minister but because no one is speaking for the industry at the Presidency, we find it difficult to implement successfully.
David Mekwunye
Having a Ministry in the maritime industry is long overdue looking at the contribution of the industry to the economy compared to the aviation industry with a substantive Minister. There is no reason why maritime should not have its own Ministry because doing that will bring more sanity to the industry, it will also allow for proper monitoring of happenings in the industry.
Akindele Hakeem
I am in support of the maritime industry having its own ministry. This will help in no small measure to improve and develop the sector. The Ministry of Transport is saddled with so much responsibility that supervising the maritime industry is becoming a burden. So, compared to the aviation industry that add little or nothing to the economy of the country, the maritime industry should have its own separate ministry that will see directly to its affairs.
Taiwo Ademola
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