The Director-General of the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency (NPERA), Dr. Pius Akutah, has assured that the agency shall work towards creating the conditions under which Nigerian ports can compete fairly, efficiently and transparently in the global maritime industry.
Akutah said that the agency occupied a strategic position at the intersection of regulation, trade facilitation and national economic development, with a statutory mandate to protect shippers, promote competition, regulate economic activities, monitor service standards, facilitate dispute resolution and reduce the cost of doing business.
The maritime industry expert, in his paper titled “The Role of the Nigerian Port Economic Regulatory Agency in Ensuring Equitable Cargo Distribution Across Nigeria Ports” and presented at a seminar organised by the League of Maritime Editors last week in Lagos, explained that such focus shall bring about a significant influence over the structure and performance of Nigeria’s port system.
Akutah, who was represented at the event by the agency’s Acting Director, Ports Monitoring and Regulatory Services, Ms Adaora Nwonu, explained: “It requires a combination of competitive ports, efficient terminals, transparent charges, reliable shipping services, modern customs processes, digital systems, effective rail and inland-waterway connections and a strong regulatory framework.
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“The objective should not be to force cargo away from one port and towards another.
“Rather, Nigeria should create a port system in which no port is artificially favoured, no port is unnecessarily disadvantaged, and every viable port has the opportunity to compete for cargo on the basis of efficiency, cost, capacity and service quality. This is the essence of trade facilitation.
“And this is where the Nigerian Shippers’ Council can make one of its most consequential contributions to Nigeria’s maritime future: not only by regulating ports, but by helping to create a competitive national port economy in which cargo moves through the most efficient corridor to its final destination”, the Director-General added.
He charged the media to keep asking the difficult questions such as “are Nigeria’s ports competing for cargo, or are Nigeria’s cargoes still competing for access to a few preferred ports?”
According to him, the answer will give Nigerians insight much about whether Nigeria’s port reforms are truly delivering the competitive, efficient and trade-friendly maritime economy that the country needs.
On the cargo imbalance in the ports of Delta, Onne, Port Harcourt and Calabar, Akutah stressed that Nigeria should not approach cargo distribution as a political contest among ports but approach it as a national competitiveness challenge.
He further clarified: “The ultimate objective should be to build a Nigerian port system in which Lagos, the Eastern ports, Lekki and other viable ports complement one another rather than compete under unequal conditions.
“Such a system would produce several benefits, including lower logistics costs; reduced congestion; shorter cargo dwell times; better utilisation of port infrastructure; increased private-sector investment; stronger regional economies; improved export competitiveness; greater resilience in national supply chains; and enhanced Nigeria’s position as a maritime and logistics hub in West Africa”.
