The Sea Empowerment and Research Centre (SEREC) has raised concern over alleged policy misalignment and weak coordination in Nigeria’s maritime sector.
It said the sector was at a critical crossroads, shaped not by limited capacity but by weak prioritisation discipline.
SEREC made this known in a policy bulletin and presidential advisory memo made available to newsmen by its Head of Research, Mr Eugene Nweke, on Thursday in Abuja.
Nweke said the sector had prioritised projects over systems, announcements over outcomes and revenue over value creation, describing the trend as a national economic risk.
“Nigeria’s maritime sector has repeatedly prioritised visibility over viability, expansion over optimisation and announcements over execution. This has resulted to congestion in spite expansion, digitalisation without integration and revenue growth without efficiency gains,” he said.
He said policy inconsistency and institutional fatigue had weakened the sector, resulting in reform fatigue and stakeholder distrust.
According to him, Nigeria is losing economic momentum and regional relevance, with annual losses estimated at between N2.5 trillion and N4 trillion due to inefficiencies.
He said with proper reforms, the sector could generate over one trillion in annual savings, recover between N500 billion and one trillion naira in revenue from cargo retention.
The sector, he said, could unlock three billion to six billion dollars in export growth, with gains expected to boost jobs and GDP.
Nweke said the sector had suffered from port expansion without adequate evacuation systems, poor connectivity and underperforming inland container depots.
Several depots, he said, were licenced based on geographic considerations rather than economic demand, leaving many underutilised.
He called for their conversion into export logistics hubs to support agro-export growth, cold-chain systems and structured export aggregation, critical for AfCFTA competitiveness.
Nweke also warned against uncoordinated deep seaport development and fragmented digital trade reforms, noting that it could undermine smooth implementation of the National Single Window.
He noted that to reposition the maritime sector, focus must shift from revenue obsession to trade efficiency, export competitiveness and cost reduction.
According to him, Nigeria’s maritime system remains import-driven, with weak export infrastructure, poor logistics integration and limited export terminals.
He said this had led to cargo diversion to neighbouring ports saying, ‘Nigeria is losing cargo not by geography but by inefficiency’.
He stressed the need for a strong independent regulator to enforce global standards and curb tariff abuses, describing regulation as key to a functional port economy.
Nweke urged proper implementation of the Cargo Tracking Note (CTN), warning it could fail without transparency and coordination.
He said maritime reforms must prioritise system integration, measurable outcomes and coordination over fragmentation.
“Nigeria is approaching a tipping point. It is either we fix our maritime system or continue to finance the efficiency of neighbouring economies,” he said.
