Rivers State could be sitting on a financial goldmine, and it has nothing to do with oil. The Environmental Management and Remediation firm, EMR, says that targeted investments in the blue economy could deliver a 50 percent boost to the state's internally generated revenue. The pitch is bold, and the numbers are hard to ignore.
EMR is urging the Rivers State government to take two concrete steps: establish a dedicated blue economy ministry, and carry out a thorough environmental audit of the state's maritime assets. The thinking is that without a proper institutional home and a clear picture of what the environment actually holds, any investment strategy will lack direction.
At the heart of the proposal is a focus on maritime infrastructure and transportation. These are the building blocks EMR believes can transform Rivers from a state that extracts from its waterways into one that genuinely builds wealth from them. The blue economy, which covers everything from fishing and aquaculture to shipping and coastal tourism, remains largely untapped across much of the Niger Delta.
Whether the state government moves on the recommendation is the real question. But with IGR pressure mounting across Nigerian states, the case for looking beyond crude oil is getting harder to dismiss.
Originally published by BusinessDay.