The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) on Thursday inaugurated the Ports and Customs Efficiency Committee (PCEC). The initiative is geared toward reducing congestion, lowering cargo dwell time, and enhancing the ease of doing business across the nation’s ports.
Princess Zahrah Mustapha, Director General of PEBEC, said at the inaugural meeting in Lagos that efficient seaports are crucial to reducing vessel turnaround time and cutting costs for port users.
According to the PEBEC DG, the committee was launched to change the narrative of missed opportunities in the maritime sector and as well unlock potential opportunities, and enhancing Nigeria’s economy.
“By improving efficiencies in our ports, we can drastically reduce the average cargo dwell time and turnover time for customers, eliminate duplication of documentation and manual processes, and ensure customers’ satisfaction.
“This is not just another one of our reforms, but this is about resilience, it’s about unlocking potential opportunities, and enhancing Nigeria’s economy. This is not just a committee made up of government force for a difference, this also has a lot of private sector stakeholders.
“It is a call to action for terminal operators to improve infrastructure and for shipping companies to increase efficiency so as to reduce delays, for freight forwarders to uphold compliance, and for regulators to reduce bureaucratic bottlenecks. It is a call for shared ownership of our shared problem and a commitment to deliver a shared solution,” she stated.
Speaking on missed opportunities, Princess Audu, stated that the Committee was established to go beyond identifying the problems but to begin implementing the solutions that are long overdue.
“Nigeria loses a lot every single day due to some of our inefficiencies. These are not just numbers, these are missed opportunities. They represent jobs not created, goods not delivered, investments not realised, and economic growth that is unnecessarily delayed.
“The Ports and Customs Efficiency Committee has been established to change this narrative, to go beyond identifying the problems we already know and begin implementing the solutions we all agree are long overdue.
“At PEBEC, our mandate has been very clear to remove bureaucratic bottlenecks that will allow people do business at Nigerian seaports. Since 2016, we have driven over 200 reforms across sectors, collaborating with ministries, departments, agencies, and private sector and since I came on board, I’ve taken it one step forward.
“So beyond passing or helping pass reforms or policies, it’s time for us to focus on implementation and practical output of what these reforms can translate into. This is why this committee is important to us.
The Parts and Customs Efficiency Committee is not an observer group, it is an action-oriented, high-impact one, charged with driving sustainable improvement in service delivery at the Nigerian ports working hand-in-hand with agencies like the Nigerian Ports Authority, the Nigerian Customs Services, and other government agencies within the ports, technical operators, shipping companies, freight haulers, logistic providers, exporters, manufacturers, and policymakers, this is a reform ecosystem that accommodates everyone” Princess Audu stated.
Speaking earlier, the managing director of NPA, Dr Abubakar Dantsoho, said the authority is currently addressing four major pillars that are critical to repositioning the nation’s seaports and make it compete effectively with regional counterparts.
According to the NPA boss, investment in infrastructure, equipment, technology, and human capacity would improve competitiveness and operational efficiency of the nation’s seaports.
Dantsoho noted that port infrastructure, particularly in Apapa and Tin Can Island Ports, is aged and in dire need of rehabilitation.
“Tin Can was constructed about 48 years ago, Apapa almost 100 years ago—yet no major rehabilitation has taken place all these years,” he said.
He added that recent government approval for the reconstruction of both ports would significantly improve berth depth and cargo handling capacity.
On the technological front, the NPA MD disclosed that the agency is working closely with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to deploy the Port Community System (PCS), which he described as the backbone for the National Single Window.
He stressed that PCS will eliminate paperwork and reduce human interface, thereby improving transparency, reducing cost, and boosting efficiency and revenue generation.
In terms of human capital, Dantsoho said the NPA is intensifying efforts to upgrade the skills of pilots and technical personnel to meet modern navigational and operational demands.
He concluded by reiterating the importance of inter-agency collaboration across all operational areas. “NPA cannot do it alone. Efficiency must cut across all segments if we are to truly optimize revenue and compete globally,” he said.
Also speaking at the event the Comptroller General of Customs; Adewale Adeniyi who was represented by the Deputy Comptroller General,Tariff and Trade, CK Niagwan emphasized that for meaningful reform to happen, the ports and customs processes must be revitalized. “This part, being efficient, is very critical to Nigeria’s logistics, trade, competitiveness, as well as regional and continental relations, particularly under such frameworks as the African Continental Free Trade Agreement,” he said.
Adeniyi underscored the need for public-private collaboration to bridge the infrastructure deficit. “The Nigerian government cannot afford to actually build on the infrastructures of the port alone. We need the private sector to join us,” he added.
He called for strong regulatory commitment from all MDAs operating at the ports, as well as sustained investment in both infrastructure and technology. Highlighting the key challenges hampering port efficiency, he listed severe congestion, prolonged cargo dwell time, high logistic costs, manual and fragmented clearance processes, outdated cargo handling equipment, and inadequate rail evacuation systems. He also decried regulatory overlaps, unauthorized port access, extortion, and security lapses as issues that must be urgently addressed.
To reverse these trends, the Customs boss advocated a number of solutions, including the enforcement of the Nigerian Ports Authority’s electronic call-up system (ETO) to manage truck traffic, timely completion of road rehabilitation projects at major port corridors, modernization of cargo handling equipment, and expansion of port infrastructure to accommodate larger vessels.
He also highlighted the urgent need to implement the National Single Window, which would centralize all documentation processes on one digital platform. “That will definitely reduce clearance time, bring about transparency, and help us to collect accurate revenues,” he stated.
Regulatory reforms, according to Adeniyi, must include joint inspections and the clarification of roles among agencies like Customs, NAFDAC, and SON to eliminate overlaps. He urged the strengthening of anti-corruption measures through transparent e-payment systems and a whistleblower mechanism to report malpractices.
He emphasized the importance of stakeholder coordination and capacity building. “We have to conduct regular meetings. Every stakeholder involved in the clearance chain must be part of that engagement to make their inputs, review operations, and address challenges,” he said.
Adeniyi pointed to the Customs’ Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) programme as an example of rewarding compliance through faster clearance processes and reduced inspections. He called on other agencies to adopt similar initiatives. “We must also continue training—not just Customs officers, but freight forwarders, terminal operators, and all MDAs.”
He stressed that collaboration must go beyond high-level meetings. “We must cascade that synergy to the lower ranks, because those are the people actually executing operations. Efficiency at the top means nothing if it doesn’t reflect on the ground.”
The Customs chief concluded that efficient port operations would boost revenue, attract foreign direct investment, and ultimately improve Nigeria’s ease of doing business.
