By Oluyinka Onigbinde
The establishment of the Nigeria Ports Economic Regulatory Agency (NPERA) will significantly reshape the regulatory responsibilities of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), particularly in the area of commercial charges, Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination, Hadiza Bala Usman, has said.
Usman, who was the keynote speaker at the recent 4th edition of the Maritime Reporters’ Association of Nigeria (MARAN) Annual Maritime Lecture, said the emergence of NPERA would introduce a clearer separation of responsibilities within the nation’s port system, particularly in tariff regulation, competition among terminal operators and the resolution of commercial disputes.
According to her, while the NPA would continue to play critical roles as landlord, infrastructure custodian and marine services provider, the new economic regulator would increasingly take centre stage in matters relating to commercial regulation, creating a framework designed to promote transparency, competition and efficiency in the port industry.
She said the development was important as Nigeria seeks to modernise its ports and strengthen their competitiveness within the West African region and the global maritime industry.
Usman explained that port modernisation should not be measured only by the acquisition of new equipment, expansion of terminals or deployment of technology, but by the extent to which such investments translate into efficiency, transparency, affordability and improved service delivery for port users.
She said Nigerian ports must be able to offer reduced delays, predictable procedures and reasonable charges if the country is to attract more cargo, shipping lines and investment.
She stressed that the competitiveness of the ports could not be separated from the overall cost of doing business, noting that importers, exporters, manufacturers and other port users were ultimately concerned about the total cost and time involved in moving cargo from the vessel to its final destination.
Usman said unnecessary charges, delays, duplication of processes and unpredictable procedures could undermine the benefits of infrastructure investments and encourage cargo owners to consider alternative ports in neighbouring countries.
She therefore advocated a system in which the total logistics cost of moving cargo would be properly tracked rather than focusing only on individual tariff lines or charges imposed by specific agencies.
The former NPA Managing Director said the reforms must also ensure that commercial disputes between port users and operators are handled within a transparent and predictable regulatory framework, stressing that investors and businesses require certainty to operate effectively.
She noted that the proposed regulatory structure should ultimately strengthen competition and discourage practices capable of making Nigerian ports unnecessarily expensive compared with competing regional gateways.
The keynote speaker’s position also aligned with concerns raised at the lecture on the need to move beyond physical port modernisation to a broader transformation of Nigeria’s logistics system.
In his welcome address, MARAN President and Assistant Editor of Shipping Position Daily, Oluyinka Onigbinde, had said the focus of the lecture was not merely on infrastructure but on whether ongoing reforms were making Nigerian ports more efficient, affordable and competitive.
He said modernisation should translate into reduced delays, predictable procedures, reasonable charges and improved service delivery, noting that the ultimate test should be whether Nigerian ports could compete effectively with other African and global ports.
Onigbinde stressed that port users were primarily concerned about the cost and efficiency of moving cargo, arguing that unnecessary charges, delays and duplication of processes ultimately affect businesses, consumers and the wider economy.
He also called for greater collaboration among government agencies, regulators, port operators, shipping companies, freight forwarders and other stakeholders, saying no single institution could transform the maritime sector in isolation.
He said the media had a responsibility not only to report challenges in the maritime industry but also to examine policies, interrogate reforms, inform the public and contribute to finding practical solutions to problems confronting the sector.
According to him, Nigeria is at a critical stage in the development of its maritime and blue economy potential, with port modernisation and regulatory reforms providing an opportunity for the country to position itself as a leading maritime hub in Africa.
He said achieving that objective would require stakeholders to look beyond individual agencies and examine the entire cargo journey, from the ship to the terminal, customs, transport corridors, warehouses, factories and markets.
The discussions at the lecture therefore placed renewed emphasis on the need for Nigeria to measure port performance by the overall experience and cost of cargo movement rather than by isolated improvements within individual terminals or agencies.
Usman further argued that Nigeria’s ambition to become a regional trade gateway could only be achieved when the cost structure of its ports becomes competitive and the regulatory environment gives confidence to investors and port users.
She said NPERA would be critical to achieving this objective by providing a stronger economic regulatory framework for tariffs, competition and commercial disputes, while allowing the NPA to concentrate on its core statutory responsibilities.
The development, she noted, should not be viewed as a weakening of the NPA but as part of a broader effort to create clearer institutional responsibilities and improve the efficiency of the Nigerian port system.
She said the ultimate objective of the reforms should be to make Nigerian ports more efficient, transparent, affordable and competitive, stressing that the success of the sector would depend on the collective efforts of government, regulators, operators, businesses and other stakeholders.
The lecture, with the theme, “Nigeria Ports Modernisation, Charges and the Competitiveness Question, “provided a platform for stakeholders to examine the impact of port charges, regulatory reforms and infrastructure development on Nigeria’s position as a regional maritime and trade hub.
