Stakeholders in Nigeria’s maritime sector have called for stronger, institutionalised partnerships to empower host communities and ensure sustainable port development across the country.
The call was made at a workshop organised by the Congress of Nigerian Maritime Media Practitioners, CONMMEP, themed “Empowering Host Communities Through Strategic Partnership,” held on December 10, 2025, at Rock View Hotel and Suites, Apapa, Lagos.
Delivering the keynote address, Head of Research at the Social and Economic Research Centre, SEREC, Forward Eugene Nweke Rff, stressed that Nigeria’s maritime future depends largely on the stability, inclusion, and prosperity of host communities surrounding ports and waterways.
Nweke noted that despite decades of maritime activities, many port communities across Lagos, Rivers, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, and Delta states remain marginalised and disconnected from the economic benefits generated by port operations.
According to him, challenges facing host communities include high youth unemployment, limited participation of local businesses in port procurement, environmental degradation, erosion of traditional livelihoods, and poor access to social infrastructure.
He said global port systems such as Rotterdam and Antwerp have succeeded by adopting structured port–community partnerships that prioritise shared governance, dedicated community funds and transparent impact evaluation.
Drawing from Nigeria’s Petroleum Industry Act Host Community Development Trust model, Nweke proposed the establishment of a Port–Host Community Development Trust to institutionalise empowerment in the maritime sector.
He recommended shared governance involving community representatives, port authorities, government agencies, and civil society, alongside dedicated financing, skills-to-jobs programmes, MSME integration, and transparent public reporting.
Nweke also identified weak monitoring, exclusion of community voices, and poorly linked skills training as key reasons past empowerment efforts have failed, warning that ports cannot remain globally competitive while host communities remain impoverished.
He further called on the media to serve as watchdogs by tracking commitments, reporting environmental impacts, and amplifying community voices, noting that accountability improves when promises and progress are consistently monitored.
In his opening remarks, President of CONMMEP, Charles UdoChukwu Onyeka, said the workshop was aimed at promoting inclusive maritime development through collaboration and media advocacy.
Onyeka highlighted CONMMEP’s role in amplifying maritime stakeholders’ voices and called for greater support from partners, including sponsorship, a dedicated secretariat, and enabling resources to strengthen the organisation’s advocacy work.
He announced the launch of Eagle Dispatch Magazine, a quarterly publication designed to promote professional maritime reporting and deepen engagement within the sector.
The workshop was attended by traditional rulers, government officials from maritime-related agencies, industry leaders, media practitioners, and representatives of host communities.
Participants agreed that empowering host communities through strategic partnerships is critical to achieving a resilient, inclusive, and sustainable maritime sector in Nigeria