The newly elected executive of the Maritime Reporters Association of Nigeria (MARAN) has pledged closer collaboration with the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to support Nigeria\u2019s ongoing port modernisation programme and broader maritime sector reforms.<\/p>\n
During a courtesy visit to the NPA headquarters in Lagos, MARAN President Oluyinka Onigbinde led the delegation to meet with Ikechukwu Onyemekara, General Manager, Corporate and Strategic Communications. <\/p>\n
Onyemekara described MARAN\u2019s peaceful leadership transition as a positive milestone for the maritime media landscape, commending the association\u2019s electoral committee and outgoing executives for ensuring stability. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhat they have done deserves commendation. Some organisations would have scattered if not for a group of people who ensured stability and successfully midwifed the election process,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Onyemekara stressed that Nigeria\u2019s port modernisation drive is critical to positioning the country as a competitive maritime hub. He noted that the initiative will enable Nigerian ports to handle larger vessels with deeper drafts, expand cargo handling capacity, and boost regional transshipment opportunities. <\/p>\n
He pointed to the growth at the Lekki Deep Sea Port as evidence of the urgent need for upgraded infrastructure, warning that failure to adapt to global shipping realities could limit Nigeria\u2019s competitiveness.<\/p>\n
Highlighting Nigeria\u2019s demographic and economic strengths, Onyemekara said efficient ports would naturally attract higher cargo volumes and transshipment business. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe economy is here, the population is here, and the market is here. Once you combine these with an efficient port system, Nigerian ports can become major transshipment hubs within the region,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
Onyemekara also underscored the role of the media in shaping public understanding of port reforms, calling for stronger support for maritime journalism and specialised training in areas such as port infrastructure, logistics, and trade facilitation. <\/p>\n
MARAN President Onigbinde, in response, reaffirmed the association\u2019s commitment to constructive engagement with industry stakeholders and stressed the need for continuous professional training for maritime journalists. <\/p>\n
\u201cNow that the industry is embarking on an ambitious programme of infrastructure expansion and modernisation, journalists also need to be trained adequately so they can properly understand and project these developments to the public,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The visit forms part of MARAN\u2019s broader stakeholder engagement initiative aimed at strengthening industry relationships and promoting collaborative efforts for the growth of Nigeria\u2019s maritime sector.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The newly elected executive of the Maritime Reporters Association of Nigeria (MARAN) has pledged closer collaboration with the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to support Nigeria\u2019s ongoing port modernisation programme and broader maritime sector reforms. During a courtesy visit to the NPA headquarters in Lagos, MARAN President Oluyinka Onigbinde led the delegation to meet with Ikechukwu […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10226,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10231","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-maritime-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10231","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10231"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10231\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10232,"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10231\/revisions\/10232"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}