In this interview-style adaptation of her keynote address at the 2026 Annual Lecture of the Maritime Reporters’ Association of Nigeria (MARAN), the Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination and Head, Central Results Delivery Coordination Unit, Hadiza Bala Usman examines the state of Nigerian ports, the cost of doing business, port charges, cargo diversion, digitalisation, the Nigeria Ports Economic Regulatory Agency (NPERA), infrastructure investment. She also suggest what Nigeria must do to become a competitive regional maritime gateway.
“A port cannot be globally competitive if its hinterland is not competitive”
- “Nigeria needs the lowest possible total cost of trade”
Why is the issue of Nigerian port competitiveness so important at this time?
The conversation about our ports is ultimately a conversation about the cost of doing business in Nigeria. It is about whether a manufacturer can import raw materials at a competitive cost, whether an exporter can move goods to international markets efficiently, whether Nigeria can attract investment, and whether we can position our country as a trade and logistics gateway for West Africa. Our seaports handle more than four-fifths of Nigeria’s imports and exports. That means when ports are inefficient, the inefficiency is not confined to the port. It taxes the entire economy.
What, in your view, should port modernisation mean, beyond the construction of physical infrastructure?
Port modernisation has at least six dimensions: physical infrastructure, equipment, digitalisation, institutional reform, human capital and commercial modernisation. The question should not simply be how much money we have invested in a port. The real question is what outcomes that investment has produced. We should be measuring vessel turnaround time, cargo dwell time, truck turnaround time, terminal productivity, equipment reliability, logistics costs, cargo delivery reliability and export capacity. A modern port is not defined by the size of its cranes or the depth of its channel. It is defined by what that investment does for Nigerians.
There has been significant concern over port charges. What is your position on the rising cost of using Nigerian ports?
The Nigeria Ports Authority tariff adjustment that took effect from March 1, 2025, came after a long period without a tariff review. The debate that followed showed just how sensitive the issue of port charges has become. The figures being discussed are significant. The Importers Association of Nigeria, for instance, has indicated that moving a 20-foot container through Apapa can cost roughly ₦14 million to ₦15 million, while comparable movement through Cotonou can be around half that.
But it is important to understand that what users experience as “port charges” is actually a stack of costs: statutory tariffs, terminal handling charges, shipping line charges, demurrage and detention, clearing agent fees and other logistics costs.
Are these charges unjustified, considering the rising cost of operating port terminals?
Operators face real cost pressures. There has been inflation, foreign exchange volatility and the fact that much of the equipment used in port operations is dollar-denominated. Shipping operators sought increases of more than 100 percent in some instances, while the Nigerian Shippers’ Council approved an increase of roughly 30 percent. Neither “never increase charges” nor “users should pay whatever operators demand” is an adequate policy position. The right question is: what value are users receiving for the charges they pay? Investment must produce performance, and performance must justify cost.
Does the focus on individual port charges miss the bigger competitiveness question?
Absolutely. The more useful metric is the total logistics cost, not simply the port charge. A manufacturer does not care only about what the terminal charges. The manufacturer cares about what it costs to move goods from the ship to the factory. An exporter cares about the cost of moving goods from the factory to the international buyer. That is the competitiveness question.
How concerned should Nigeria be about cargo diversion to neighbouring countries?
Rising costs create a competitiveness risk for Nigeria against ports in Benin, Ghana and Togo. Every container that chooses Cotonou instead of Lagos represents more than lost port revenue. It is Nigerian tax revenue, Nigerian jobs and Nigerian logistics growth moving elsewhere. We therefore have to ask whether our policies are making Nigerian ports more competitive or inadvertently subsidising the logistics growth of neighbouring countries.
How important are Nigerian ports to the country’s export ambitions?
Ports must become instruments of export growth. We need to ask whether our ports are helping farmers reach international markets, whether manufacturers can export competitively, whether non-oil exports can move efficiently and whether Nigeria can serve as a regional distribution hub. A port strategy focused only on imports is incomplete.
Nigeria has invested heavily in port infrastructure. Why has this not automatically translated into competitiveness?
Infrastructure alone is not enough. We need multimodal corridors, rail, roads, inland logistics, dry ports, border efficiency, predictable customs processes and efficient trucking. A port cannot be globally competitive if its hinterland is not competitive. Port capacity is meaningless if cargo cannot be evacuated efficiently.
What role should digitalisation play in transforming the ports?
Digitalisation should go beyond simply putting paper forms online. The objective should be to redesign the process: one submission, one data trail, multiple agencies, risk-based intervention, reduced physical interaction, greater transparency and accountability, and faster clearance. The National Single Window is therefore important. But technology alone will not reform the ports. If you digitise a bad process, you simply create a digital bad process.
What role will the Nigeria Ports Economic Regulatory Agency, NPERA, play in addressing some of these challenges?
The new statutory economic regulator, the Nigeria Ports Economic Regulatory Agency, has an important mandate. It is expected to regulate tariffs, promote competition among concessionaires and adjudicate disputes. The regulator has to balance the interests of terminal operators, shipping lines, importers, exporters, government and consumers. It should ensure that tariffs have published justification, that there is a clear dispute-resolution mechanism and that there is proper oversight. But a new regulator is a floor, not a ceiling.
What would make NPERA effective?
Independence and technical capacity will be critical. The regulator must be able to audit tariff filings, challenge unjustified charges and act against operators irrespective of how well-connected they may be. We should be able to see the impact of effective regulation within 18 months—not merely through speeches, but through measurable outcomes. Disputes should be resolved in weeks rather than years, and where overcharging is established, refunds should follow.
What principles should guide Nigeria’s tariff policy?
There are five principles: predictability, transparency, performance, benchmarking and dialogue. Predictability allows businesses to plan. Transparency allows users to understand what they are paying for. Performance ensures that charges are connected to service delivery. Benchmarking allows Nigeria to compare itself with competing ports. Dialogue ensures that reforms take account of the realities faced by operators and users. Again, investment must produce performance, and performance must justify cost.
What immediate steps should government take to improve port competitiveness?
There are several priorities. We need to complete port modernisation transparently and tie infrastructure investment to measurable outcomes. We need predictable tariffs, faster implementation of the National Single Window and development of Port Community Systems. We must reduce regulatory duplication and strengthen road, rail, barge and inland connectivity. There must also be stronger performance obligations for concessionaires, a deliberate strategy to position Nigeria as a regional gateway and annual international benchmarking against competing ports. Port competitiveness is an ecosystem outcome.
Finally, what should Nigerians expect from a truly modern and competitive port system?
Success should mean faster vessel movement, predictable cargo delivery, digital documentation, risk-based inspection, less truck waiting time and a functioning rail and barge freight network. It should mean predictable input costs for manufacturers, competitive exports and rules that businesses can understand and plan around.
There is no single reform that will transform Nigerian ports. Infrastructure alone will not do it. Technology alone will not do it. Tariff reform alone will not do it. Regulation alone will not do it. Real transformation happens when infrastructure, technology, tariffs and regulation work together.
Nigeria needs the lowest possible total cost of trade, with reliability, transparency and predictability. Ultimately, we should measure a modern port not by the size of its cranes, the depth of its channel or the billions invested, but by what that investment does for Nigerians.
