The Port Management Association of West and Central Africa (PMAWCA) has emphasized the critical role of data in driving effective decision-making across port operations on the continent.

Speaking during the Board of Directors and Ports Statisticians Network Meetings in Luanda, Angola, the association’s President, Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho, stressed the urgent need for African countries to convert their marine comparative advantages into tangible economic opportunities that benefit the region.

Dantsoho, who is also the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), noted that the sustainability and growth of African economies are closely tied to the health and efficiency of their seaports. He argued that, beyond shared waterways, countries in West and Central Africa also share common challenges and opportunities that demand collective action.

“The need to translate our marine comparative advantages into opportunities for the collective prosperity of our respective countries has never been more pressing than it is now,” he said.

“We must not lose sight of the fact that the demonstrated global leadership of ports in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) shows that the sustainability of the world—especially Africa—rests heavily on the sustainability of our ports.”

Referencing a recent meeting with the PMAWCA Women Network at the NPA headquarters in Lagos, Dantsoho reiterated that regional collaboration remains vital. “Countries in West and Central Africa are not just linked by water; we are also linked by shared challenges and opportunities. With the increasing realisation of the power of economic cooperation, we would be doing ourselves a great disservice if we fail to maximize this unity through intensified collaboration among our ports,” he said.

He also commended President Bola Tinubu for the establishment of the Marine and Blue Economy Ministry, describing it as a transformative step that has eased the implementation of bold initiatives in the sector.

According to Dantsoho, “The visionary creation of the new Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy has re-energised our resolve to invest more in sector-specific talent development and to harness fresh ideas from operational think tanks such as PMAWCA.”