Nigeria’s triumphant return to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Council has been met with jubilation within the regional maritime bloc, but the Category C seat comes with significant responsibilities that demand deeper maritime reforms. The country’s maritime community erupted in celebration on November 28, 2025, as Nigeria secured its spot on the IMO Council for the 2026–2027 biennium, marking a comeback after a 14-year absence and several failed attempts. This victory reflects a renewed global confidence in Nigeria’s role within the international maritime system, according to Dr. Adegboyega Oyetola, the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy.
Addressing dignitaries, diplomats, and representatives of member states at an appreciation lunch in London, Oyetola noted that the support Nigeria received during the election reaffirmed global confidence in the country’s constructive engagement and commitment to the IMO’s mission. He highlighted the IMO’s mandate to improve international maritime safety, drive decarbonisation, protect the marine environment, enhance maritime security, and build a sustainable blue economy. Oyetola pledged closer cooperation with member states, the IMO Secretariat, and industry stakeholders to improve global maritime safety, sustainability, and economic growth. He emphasized that the confidence shown by the international community strengthens Nigeria’s resolve to deliver measurable and beneficial outcomes throughout the 2026–2027 biennium.
Nigeria joined 19 other countries elected in Category C at the 34th session of the IMO General Assembly in London. These countries are recognized for their special interests in maritime transport and navigation and are selected to ensure balanced geographical representation within the IMO Council. For the 2026–2027 biennium, Nigeria will represent the interests of West and Central African nations in global maritime governance and help bridge the gaps in addressing challenges such as piracy, oil theft, environmental pollution, capacity gaps, technical assistance needs, and influencing international safety standards. This seat will also strengthen domestic maritime industries, including ship registries, seafarer training, port development, enhancing credibility, and attracting investment.
However, industry experts have urged the Ministry and its agencies to translate this vote of confidence into tangible improvements in maritime governance, safety, and commercial competitiveness for countries in West and Central Africa. They also urged the Federal Government to leverage the Council seat to address the persistent gaps that had kept Nigeria off the body for so long. Nigeria had previously secured the IMO Council seat in 2001, 2005, 2007, and 2009 but subsequently lost the elections in 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2021 due to structural lapses. These included poor preparation, weak diplomatic networking and regional bloc support, late and disorganized campaign planning, failure to implement findings and recommendations from the IMO Member State Audit Scheme (IMSAS), a weak indigenous shipping sector, and inadequate seafarers’ training and welfare.
Other challenges included piracy, delays in updating maritime legislation, slow enforcement of safety and environmental standards, and inconsistent compliance with the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code across ports. However, Nigeria addressed these structural gaps, with the most important one being strengthening its diplomatic networking and regional bloc support. Unlike previous years, Nigeria began a strategic, centrally coordinated, and diplomatically aggressive campaign while engaging African Union blocs, Caribbean clusters, Middle Eastern maritime hubs, Asian port states, and European partners.
The Secretary-General of the Maritime Organisation for West and Central Africa (MOWCA), Dr. Paul Adalikwu, described Nigeria’s victory as a win for all MOWCA member countries, as they would now enjoy greater representation in the IMO’s executive organ between Assembly sessions and effectively steer the organization’s work program, budget, and policy direction. According to him, MOWCA views Nigeria as a country capable of representing other maritime nations in the region, given its extensive involvement in multimodal trade logistics and dry ports operations.
However, industry experts have outlined areas Nigeria must urgently address in the next two years at the Council, which include boosting shipyards and registries, seafaring training and manpower development, security and port infrastructure upgrade, and enhancing regional trade, among others. The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) revealed an anticipated 90,000 global seafarers shortfall by 2026, with only 1.9 million seafarers sailing worldwide. According to industry experts, Africa emerges as an untapped resource for seafarers, currently accounting for only three percent of the global seafarer pool. Nigeria contributes only 0.3 percent to the global seafaring workforce, with