The Director-General of the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency (NPERA), Dr Pius Akutah, says efficient and competitive seaports are critical to achieving Nigeria’s one trillion dollar economy target by 2030.
Akutah said this on Wednesday in Lagos when the President of the Shipping Correspondents Association of Nigeria (SCAN), Mr Moses Ebosele, led a delegation on a courtesy visit to the agency’s headquarters to discuss areas of collaboration.
He said NPERA was committed to improving the port regulatory environment through stronger enforcement, standard-setting, automation and digitisation of port operations.
According to him, the measures are aimed at improving efficiency, reducing bottlenecks and making Nigerian ports more competitive.
Akutah said NPERA was established not only to regulate economic activities at the ports but also to enforce compliance and deter practices that could undermine trade facilitation and efficiency in the maritime sector.
He said the agency now had stronger legal powers to sanction infractions than the regulatory framework previously operated by the Nigerian Shippers’ Council.
“In the past, there was no potency in our law, so we could not enforce anything because the penalties were too insignificant to deter infractions at Nigerian ports,” Akutah said.
He said the new framework prescribed a minimum penalty of N500,000 for an individual first offender, with higher penalties for repeat offenders, while corporate offenders could face sanctions of up to N20 million.
The NPERA boss said provisions for legal enforcement and criminal prosecution contained in the agency’s enabling law would serve as deterrence against violations in port operations.
He, however, stressed that the objective of the agency was not to disrupt port operations but to create a regulatory environment that encouraged voluntary compliance with established standards.
“Our focus is to set standards, promote innovation and drive digitisation to make compliance easier, reduce human interference and improve the quality of port operations,” he said.
On concerns about multiple government agencies conducting physical checks at the ports and the effect on trade facilitation, Akutah said NPERA respected the statutory responsibilities of other agencies operating within the maritime sector.
He said increased automation and reduced human interference would help eliminate bottlenecks, improve efficiency and reduce costs for port users.
Akutah added that the measures would also strengthen the competitiveness of Nigerian ports and contribute to the growth of the national economy.
Earlier, Ebosele congratulated the NPERA management on its efforts and invited Akutah to the SCAN 2026 Summit scheduled for Oct. 29 in Lagos.
He said effective port regulation required regular communication and engagement among regulators and stakeholders to achieve sustainable development in the maritime sector.
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