MARCON plans national retreat to chart maritime sector’s role in Nigeria’s $1trn economy drive
Maureen Aguta
The Maritime Correspondents Organisation of Nigeria (MARCON) is set to convene a national retreat of maritime journalists, policymakers, regulators and industry stakeholders to examine Nigeria’s foreign trade structure and the maritime sector’s strategic role in achieving the Federal Government’s $1 trillion productive economy ambition.
The 2026 All Nigerian Maritime Journalists Retreat, scheduled for December 2–4, will focus on repositioning the nation’s economy from dependence on raw commodity extraction and exports to a production-driven model anchored on industrialisation, value addition, competitive exports and sustainable economic growth.
The main event, scheduled for December 3 at De Marii Hotel FZE, Ibeju Lekki, Lagos, will be held under the theme, “From Extraction to Exchange: Recalibrating Nigeria’s Foreign Trade to Realise President Tinubu’s $1 Trillion Productive Economy.”
The retreat is expected to provide a platform for critical discussions on how Nigeria can strengthen its domestic productive capacity, expand its export base, attract investment and improve the competitiveness of locally manufactured goods in the international market.
At the centre of the discussions will be the strategic importance of efficient ports, modern shipping services, marine logistics, cargo handling, trade facilitation and critical infrastructure in driving the country’s economic transformation.
As Nigeria intensifies efforts to achieve its $1 trillion economy target, stakeholders are expected to examine how the maritime sector can facilitate the movement of raw materials, manufactured goods and export commodities while reducing the cost of doing business and improving access to global markets.
The programme will feature contributions from key government institutions, regulatory agencies and private-sector operators on various aspects of the country’s trade and economic development agenda.
The Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, under the leadership of Minister Adegboyega Oyetola, is expected to deliver a paper on “Developing Nigeria’s Blue Economy Value Chains to Drive Local Production and Export Growth,” while the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) will address “Transforming Nigerian Ports for Trade Efficiency and Global Export Competitiveness.”
The Managing Director of SIFAX Inland Container Terminal (ICT) Limited, Mr Paul Linden, is expected to examine “Integrating Port, Inland Container Terminal and Logistics Operations to Drive Nigeria’s Export Competitiveness.”
Similarly, the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, PhD, is expected to speak on customs administration beyond revenue collection, with emphasis on trade facilitation, export promotion and industrial growth.
The National Single Window Secretariat is also expected to deliver a presentation on “The Role of the National Single Window in Enhancing Nigeria’s Foreign Trade and Transition to a $1 Trillion Productive Economy,” focusing on digitalisation, streamlined documentation and inter-agency coordination to improve the efficiency of import and export processes.
A major highlight of the retreat will be a special Meet the Maritime Press Session featuring Dangote Industries Limited, which is expected to provide insights into the conglomerate’s maritime operations, including port operations, shipping, cargo handling, marine logistics and other activities supporting its industrial and commercial operations.
The engagement builds on MARCON’s recent tour of the Dangote Refinery, fertiliser plant and other facilities within the Group’s industrial complex.
Dangote Industries Limited also participated in the previous edition of the annual retreat, where its President and Chief Executive, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, received the prestigious MARCON Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his contributions to Nigeria’s industrial and economic development.
Other institutional contributions are expected from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, which will address “Food Security as a Foundation for Nigeria’s Productive Economy and Sustainable Development,” and the Federal Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, which is expected to examine “Developing Nigeria’s Tourism Value Chain to Attract Investment and Drive Local Enterprise.”
Other organisations expected to participate include the Federal Ministry of Finance; Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment; Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL); Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC); Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS); National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC); Nigerian Navy; and other relevant government agencies and private-sector organisations.
The retreat will also examine the contribution of the oil and gas industry to strengthening the productive economy, the role of private-sector investment in industrial development, and the importance of sound trade policies and infrastructure in expanding Nigeria’s export capacity.
Speaking on the objectives of the retreat, Chairman of the Planning Committee, Paul Ogbuokiri, said the gathering was designed to provide a platform for a critical examination of Nigeria’s foreign trade priorities and the contribution of the maritime industry to the country’s economic ambitions.
He said the transition from extraction to exchange required deliberate policies and investments to strengthen local production, encourage value addition, improve export capacity and position Nigeria to derive greater economic benefits from its international trade.
“Achieving a $1 trillion productive economy requires more than setting an ambitious target. It calls for a fundamental rethink of how we produce, move, process and trade goods.
“The maritime sector is at the heart of this process because the competitiveness of our ports, shipping and logistics systems has a direct bearing on the cost of doing business, the attractiveness of investment and the ability of Nigerian products to compete in international markets,” Ogbuokiri said.
He added that Nigeria’s economic transformation would depend largely on the capacity to strengthen domestic industries, improve trade infrastructure and move beyond the export of raw commodities to higher-value products.
The annual All Nigerian Maritime Journalists Retreat has become a major gathering of maritime journalists in Nigeria, providing a platform for professional engagement, knowledge exchange and interaction between the media and stakeholders across the maritime, shipping, transport, trade and logistics sectors.
The 2026 edition will run from December 2 to 4, with the main event scheduled to commence at 10:00 a.m. on December 3 at De Marii Hotel FZE, Plot J21, Xiamen Road, Lekki Free Zone, off Lekki Coastal Road, near Dangote Refinery, Ibeju Lekki, Lagos.