Stakeholders in the nation’s maritime industry have blamed systemic inefficiencies, poor infrastructure, and inconsistent policies for the continued absence of Nigerian ports from Lloyd’s List’s Top 100 Container Ports Ranking for 2025. The elite list was released recently by Lloyds.
Each year, Lloyd’s List, a leading maritime intelligence organisation, releases its ‘One Hundred Ports’ ranking, a report that ranks countries based on the volume of containers handled in its terminals.
From available records, it has been nine years since any Nigerian port appeared among the world’s hundred busiest. The last time was 2016, when Apapa Port in Lagos scraped into the ‘Lloyd’s List’ ranking at 93 out of 100.
The top-ranked seaports are Shanghai (China), Singapore, Ningbo-Zhoushan (China), and Shenzhen (China), with Shanghai consistently ranked as the busiest port for container throughput. Other ports frequently appearing in the top 10 include Guangzhou (China), Busan (South Korea), Tianjin (China), Jebel Ali (UAE), and Port Klang (Malaysia).
Five African ports made the list this year like other years including Tanger Med in Morocco ranked the 17th busiest in the world, Port Said and Alexandria in Egypt at 53rd and 90th, Durban in South Africa at 79th, and Lome in Togo at 92nd.
Sadly, Nigeria’s major trade gateways including Apapa, Tin Can Island, and even the modern Lekki port failed to make the cut.
In his reaction to the latest ranking Dr. Muda Yusuf, CEO Center for Promotion of Private Enterprises (CPPE) and former Director-General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, described the rankings as credible, but emphasized that they underscore the urgent need for reforms.
“Apart from the ranking issue, the more important message is that we still have a lot of work to do to make our port system more efficient,” he said. While noting recent government initiatives, including a reported $1 billion investment to upgrade port infrastructure, Dr. Yusuf stressed that gaps remain in human capacity, technology adoption, and operational efficiency.
“I’m actually surprised that Lekki Seaport didn’t make it,” Yusuf added. “In terms of infrastructure and technology, it is top-notch. But efficiency, cargo clearance, and operational speed are key factors—and these are areas we still struggle with.
“By the time the single-window system, customs modernization, and other reforms come fully into reality, we will see an improvement in the rankings,” he noted.
On his part Dr. Kayode Farinto, a maritime policy expert and former Acting President Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) attributed Nigeria’s low global competitiveness to a combination of inconsistent policy and funding constraints. “Security, delineation of port areas, and predictable cargo clearance are all zero. Until these criteria are met, our ports cannot compete with North African counterparts or global standards,” he said.
Farinto also highlighted the human factor and technology adoption as critical barriers.
He noted that while ports like Morocco’s Tanger Med or Egypt’s Port Said leverage geo-fencing, streamlined operations, and digital cargo tracking, Nigerian ports are only beginning to integrate such systems.
“Every port in the world is implementing geo-fencing. The Nigerian Port Authority (NPA) in Nigeria is just trying to put it in place now.
“It’s not that the ranking is biased, it’s a wake-up call. The government must prioritize operational efficiency alongside revenue collection to remain competitive.” he said.
Also speaking Mr James Ntabong a member of National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders ( NAGAFF) noted that the absence of Nigerian ports from the global top 100 reflects a combination of congestion, bureaucratic bottlenecks, and slow adoption of automation—issues that persist despite modernization efforts like the single-window system, truck e-call-up initiatives, and customs digitalization programs. He cautioned that without a focused, sustained approach, Nigeria risks lagging further behind.
Meanwhile the Federal Government says it is working to position Nigeria’s ports among the top three most efficient in Africa by 2026. Vice President Kashim Shettima made this known at the second meeting of the Ports and Customs Efficiency Committee in Abuja.
Shettima announced that the National Single Window system—a digital platform to harmonize documentation and reduce human contact at ports—will be implemented in the first quarter of 2026. The move, he said, aims to cut cargo clearance time from the current 21 days to under seven.
He lamented that clearing goods in Nigeria costs 30 percent more than in neighbouring countries like Ghana and Benin Republic, where clearance takes less than a week. The Vice President directed agencies including NPA, Nigeria Customs Service, NAFDAC, and SON to work together and end inter-agency rivalry.
Shettima expressed optimism that the forthcoming Executive Order on Joint Physical Inspection will further improve transparency and efficiency at the ports.
Meanwhile, the Managing Director of NPA, Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho, and the PEBEC Director-General, Zahrah Audu, emphasized the need for collaboration, technology adoption, and infrastructure improvement to make Nigeria’s ports globally competitive.
