NPA, Shippers’ Council differ on recipes to revive Eastern ports

The 2026 edition of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the League of Maritime Editors that came up at BWC Hotel in Victoria lsland Lagos on Wednesday 19th of August pooled heavy weights of the industry including the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Mr Adegboyega Oyetola, the Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Dr Abubakar Dantsoho, Director General of Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Dr Dayo Mobereola,( NIMASA), the Executive Secretary of Nigerian Shippers Council, Barrister Pius Akuta, the Comptroller General of Customs, Dr Wale Adeniyi and the Rector of Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Dr Kevin Okonna. They were all ably represented at the august occasion.

The topic of the annual lecture was: Lagos/Eastern Ports: How To Reverse Existing lmbalance ln Disproportionate Cargo Vessel Calls.

In her welcome address, the President of the League of Maritime Editors, Mrs Remi ltie, noted that apart from the abandonment of port terminals in the Eastern Ports, a lot of aquatic resources lay waste and virtually untapped. He called on the Federal Government and relevant stakeholders to address and correct these abnormalities.

As expected, the Minister in his remarks unfurled a tantalizing picture of Nigeria’s maritime industry as it obtains,  and as he envisaged it to be in the future.
While the ministry of Marine and Blue Economy and the Nigerian Ports Authority ( NPA ) shared the view that more greenfield ports investors should be welcomed to accommodate the rapidly increasing cargo volumes in the industry, however, the Nigerian Shippers Council (now recently renamed Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Authority NPERA) respectfully shared a slightly different views.

NPERA believes that the present existing port infrastructure in Nigeria have enough capacities to handle even more cargo and vessel throughputs as prevalent in the industry.

Understandably, the Minister and his two powerful subordinates chorused the fact that the ports in Warri, Port Harcourt and Calabar were not being deliberately or mischievously undeserved with regular vessel and cargo throughputs, that factors such as wrong choices, defective port structures or terrains, poor road networks, and market proximity were some of the factors traceable to this anomaly.

In his speech, the Minister, who was represented by the Director of Press in the Ministry, Mrs Anastasia Ogbonna,  said the federal government was not unconcerned about the relatively low patronage of Eastern ports while Lagos was almost year round belabored by congestion and block stacked containers. He however noted that Lagos would remain the maritime gateway because of obvious factors which include accessible road infrastructure, proximity of a cluster of industries and manufacturing concerns, a readily available consuming market emanating from the huge population of the megacity, among others.

The Minister said structures were being reworked to make the Eastern ports viable noting that the “imbalance affects much more than the ports themselves. It has implications for national logistics costs, regional economic development,  efficient use of infrastructure, investment and, ultimately, the competitiveness of Nigeria’s maritime sector. For decades, the Lagos ports, particularly Apapa and Tin Can Island Ports, have handled an overwhelming proportion of Nigeria’s seaborne cargo traffic. This is understandable, given their historical antecedent and the concentration of commercial activities around Lagos. However, the pressure this has placed on the ports and their connecting infrastructure has become increasingly difficult to ignore.

“We are all familiar with the consequences: congestion, longer cargo dwell and vessel turnaround times, increased demurrage and logistics costs, pressure on our road infrastructure, environmental challenges and inefficiencies throughout the supply chain. At the same time, the Eastern ports,  including Onne, Port Harcourt, Warri and Calabar, have considerable strategic and economic potential but the debilitating issues of security and safety,low draughts and deplorable road network have been the bane of the ports in the Eastern zone.”

The Minister explained that reconstruction and rehabilitation works would be conducted in ports in the two zones but Lagos ports take precedence because of their strategic and immediate importance to the economy. He however stressed that the rehabilitation works would be done in phases to not disrupt the supply chain and harm the economy.

The Minister used the opportunity to invite prospective investors to invest in new port development claiming that, in tandem with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He assured that the federal government has made it a priority to tackle the deficiencies responsible for the low vessel and cargo traffic in Eastern port.

Speaking in a similar vein, the Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority, Dr Abubakar Dantsoho, who was represented, told the attentive audience that the ports modernisation programme, with the introduction of the National Single Window under a Unified Port Community System,  had crystalized into more efficient operations with optimal results part of which was the recent declaration of Apapa and Tincan ports among twenty most improved ports in the world by the World Bank.

He described as collosal the revenues made by neighbouring ports of Teme  and Lome at the expense of Nigeria due to infrastructural deficiencies of Nigerian ports. The ports at Apapa and Tincan are about 100 and 50 years old respectively, the draughts are below lMO world standards, the Customs 100 percent examination is sluggish and unacceptable culminating in a cargo dwell time of about 21 days, 475 percent above global 4 days practice.

Dantsoho gladly recalled the recent approval of a loan of 746 million pounds from the Citi Bank in UK for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the dilapidated Nigerian ports infrastructure including the quay alls, yard upgrading and channel dredging deep down to 16.5 metres to accommodate bigger vessels. The project execution  will however begin with Apapa and Lagos ports because of obvious economic expediency.

The NPA further elaborated plans for further  green field port developments such as the ports of Ondo, new port under construction in Akwa lbom and Dangote port in Ogun/Ondo Free Zone which were all envisaged to be within the horizon and deliverable in the not too distant future. These facilities, the MD hoped, would enhance higher volume capacities and help Nigeria reclaim its deserved status as the maritime trade hub in West/Central Africa.

The Nigerian Shippers Council Executive Secretary, represented by Mrs Adaora Nwonu, shared near similar views and optimism with the Minister and the Nigerian Ports Authority Managing Director on the imbalance in cargo and vessels operations  in Nigerian ports but the Council differed slightly on some of the factors responsible for these problems and the recipes to resolving them. While the Ministry and the NPA believed in dredging the port channels and the construction of more ports through partnerships, the Shippers Council stressed the importance of creativity, healthy competition engendered by competency and high  professional standards.

The ES notes “cargo follows commercial logic. Importers consider proximity to markets, port charges, vessel accessibility, terminal efficiency, customs processes, road and rail connections, security, cargo handling capacity and overall logistics costs.”

Some of the redundant ports’ relatively shallow channels draughts are no excuse for inactivity, the ES explained that some very busy ports around the world, notably in Belgium, have short draughts but simply specialize in light vessels and light weight cargo suitable for their waters. Some port terminals in One, especially the ones used by oil companies have low draughts channels but what they do is use vessels that they find functional and adaptable to their situations. They even use boats to move goods when necessary. The Council inferred that building new port isn’t an unwelcomed development but the  present port and terminal facilities have adequate capacities to keep all ports fully engaged.

The ES noted that Eastern ports and terminals canbusy and self-sustaining  if the underlisted factors are urgently addressed by government and stakeholders. They include:
• navigational accessibility;
• adequate channel depth;
• modern cargo-handling equipment;
• reliable customs and regulatory processes;
• efficient terminal operations;
• good road and rail connections;
• security;
• competitive charges;
• availability of shipping services; and
• efficient connections to inland markets.

The Council was enthusiastic about the fact that these issues are already being tackled by the federal government with security now assured in the Niger Delta area of the country. The Single Window under the port community system is also bearing fruit. The Lagos/ Calabar Express Way, when completed, would also help quicken truck and cargo turn around time.

The Council, now known as NPERA, also posited that equitable cargo distribution should not stop at seaports. The NSC has been involved in facilitating Inland Dry Ports; the e Council’s official framework recognises inland dry ports as part of the wider logistics architecture. “Nigeria needs to think of cargo distribution as a port-to-hinterland logistics system, ” the ES offered.

Another highlight of League Conference was the seminal and brilliant key-note lecture delivered by the Chairman of the occasion, a Master Mariner, Captain lheanacho Ebubeogu. He deftly classified cargoes into two categories, Captive cargo and Contestable cargo. Captive cargoes are cargoes that by virtue of nature and proximity to sources of production and consumption naturally become attractive to shippers and the carriers since the logistics costs would be comparatively lower.

He adduced the redundancy of Eastern ports to not taking advantage of the booming captive cargoes generated from the petroleum industry in their precincts and the ever present industrial clusters of Onitsha, Aba and Port Harcourt.

“Essentially, it’s about vision and managerial competence.  He however admitted that structural defects in the port channels make it tortuous and expensive to navigate ships from Anchorage to the berths. He also adduced security concerns around the Niger Delta as partly traceable to the low traffic as shipping lines and the lMO are very mindful of security and safety of lives and cargoes.

Another highlight of the day was the exhibition of the achievements of the present Rector of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria,Oron, Dr Kelvin Okonma, who disclosed that, apart from  the beautiful superstructures put in place, the institution has trained 11,788 trainees,  401 have successfully completed regular cadet programmes.

The Rector, who was ably represented by Mr Lawal , a senior management staff, said the Academy will deepen partnerships with renowned shipowners and relevant international organizations for the benefits of their graduate cadets and the school itself.

Mr Lucky Amiwero, a respected freight forwarder and President of National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents promised to assist the NPERA in their new assignment as the official port economic regulator.