Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has called on African states, non-governmental and private organisations and other stakeholders to synergise efforts at harnessing seabed resources to boost the continent’s blue economy.

Mr Osinbajo made the call in his keynote address at the fourth African Deep Seabed Resources (ADSR) Workshop on Wednesday in Abuja.

The workshop was organised by the International Seabed Authority (ISA) in collaboration with the Federal Government, African Union (AU) and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD).

Mr Osinbajo said the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) allowed nations to explore and exploit mineral resources on the seabed beyond national jurisdiction for the benefit of mankind.

“Notably, various nations have drawn benefits from exploration and exploitation of minerals in the area. Countries such as Germany, India, Korea, China, Japan, the UK, Jamaica and many others have signed various contracts for the explorations of minerals with ISA,” he stated.

The vice president added, “Unfortunately, no African country has either as a state or through its private contractors made any move in this direction. This is what gave impetus to the idea of African Deep Seabed Resources Workshop.”

According to him, there is a need for Nigeria and African industrial stakeholders, private organisations, entities and NGOs to synergise efforts towards strengthening the engagement of African states in activities in the international seabed area.

“This will significantly improve data awareness and sharing, advance technical capacity and technically enhance the decision-making in Nigeria and African maritime domain,” Mr Osinbajo noted.

(NAN)