Monday Discourse with Ibrahim Nasiru 

The recent technical discussions between the leadership of the newly transmuted Nigeria Ports Economic Regulatory Agency (NPERA) and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) mark a critical turning point in the governance of Nigeria’s maritime sector.

Prompted by a definitive ministerial directive from the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr. Adegboyega Oyetola, the two agencies are moving to operationalize the transfer of Inland Dry Port functions from the old Nigerian Shippers’ Council architecture straight to the NPA.

For decades, Nigeria’s maritime ecosystem has been severely suffocated by overlapping institutional mandates, administrative friction, and a counterproductive confusion over who regulates commerce versus who drives infrastructure.

By enforcing this sweeping separation of port economic regulation from core operational development, the federal government is finally addressing the structural flaws that have long stopped Nigeria from becoming the dominant maritime hub of West Africa.

Under the fresh provisions of the NPERA Act 2026, particularly the critical alignment of Section 51, the administrative boundary lines are being redrawn with clinical precision.

The old regime, which forced the Shippers’ Council to simultaneously act as an economic referee and an active promoter of inland dry ports, was an unsustainable model that created inherent institutional contradictions.

You cannot effectively police a commercial market while actively building and managing its operational assets.

Shifting the promotion, development, and operational oversight of inland dry ports entirely to the NPA allows the authority to leverage its massive, existing deep-sea infrastructure and engineering competencies to rapidly scale up these hinterland Ports.

This clean realignment ensures that Inland Dry Ports stop being slow-moving administrative projects and finally become hyper-efficient logistics nodes that seamlessly extend the economic reach of our coastlines into the landlocked states of the North.

Consequently, the collaborative maturity demonstrated during the recent strategy session between NPERA Director-General, Dr. Pius Akutah, and the NPA Managing Director, Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho, signals a refreshing departure from the toxic inter-agency warfare that defined the past.

In previous dispensations, such a sweeping transfer of functions would have triggered fierce turf battles, with executives aggressively hoarding administrative powers to the detriment of national trade efficiency.

Akutah’s strategic proposal for a high-level joint committee—integrating NPERA, NPA, the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), and the parent ministry, proactively tethers all moving parts to a single, accountable execution framework.

This coordinated approach is exactly what is needed to assure international shipping lines, domestic clearing agents, and private concessionaires that the transition will be frictionless, legally sound, and completely free from double-taxation trapdoors.

Ultimately, the successful execution of this structural unbundling will be the ultimate metric used to grade President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Marine and Blue Economy agenda.

If properly managed, freeing NPERA to focus strictly on economic regulation will create a fiercely competitive, transparently priced maritime marketplace that drives down the prohibitive cost of doing business at our Ports.

Simultaneously, placing the Inland Dry Ports within the NPA’s operational portfolio should accelerate cargo evacuation times, de-congest the chaotic Apapa and Tin Can corridors, and unlock the dormant multi-billion dollar trade potential of the hinterlands.

Minister Oyetola has laid down a courageous, legally backed blueprint for structural clarity. It is now up to the joint leadership of Akutah and Dantsoho to aggressively transform this institutional unbundling into a thriving, world-class economic reality.

Ibrahim Nasiru is a public affairs analyst

Gloria ODION, Maritime Reporter

The Media Anti-Corruption Initiatives (MACI) has forged a strategic partnership with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to strengthen media-driven efforts to promote transparency, accountability and ethical conduct in Nigeria.

The partnership was sealed on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, when a seven-member MACI delegation, led by its National President, Mr Funso Olojo, paid a courtesy visit to the Resident Anti-Corruption Commissioner, Lagos Zonal Office, Mr Chukwurah Alexander, at the ICPC’s Lagos office.

Receiving the delegation, Alexander described the media as a critical partner in the ICPC’s public enlightenment and corruption-prevention mandate under Section 6 of the ICPC Act, 2000.

He commended MACI for its commitment to discouraging public participation in corrupt practices and expressed optimism that stronger collaboration between the media and the Commission would deepen public awareness and prevention efforts.

The meeting focused on developing a structured collaboration framework that would reposition the fight against corruption from a predominantly reactive approach to a more preventive and citizen-driven campaign.

Among the areas identified for collaboration are strengthening the strategic role of the media in anti-corruption advocacy and public reorientation, aligning media initiatives with the prevention-focused provisions of the ICPC mandate, and promoting global best practices in anti-corruption communication.

The stakeholders also discussed the need to distinguish between general information and actionable intelligence in investigative reporting, while promoting responsible reporting that can support legitimate anti-corruption investigations.

Other areas of proposed collaboration include continuous training and capacity building for journalists on anti-corruption reporting, development of a framework for data sharing between the ICPC and MACI to facilitate fact-based journalism, and the organisation of joint mobile and community-targeted sensitisation campaigns.

Speaking during the engagement, MACI National President, Olojo, reaffirmed the organisation’s determination to support the ICPC’s anti-corruption mandate through responsible and ethical journalism.

Olojo said citizens must be actively involved if Nigeria is to achieve the kind of society envisioned by its people.

“If we must achieve the Nigeria of our dream, the people must be actively involved,” he said.

He described the ICPC as a key coordinating institution within Nigeria’s anti-corruption architecture and pledged MACI’s continued commitment to using the media to promote integrity, accountability and responsible citizenship.

The MACI delegation comprised Olojo, LOD Onyeji, Tunde Ojudun, John Iwori, Abba Collins, Esther Komolafe and Ruth Sunday.

MACI is a non-governmental organisation committed to promoting ethical journalism, accountability and citizen participation in the fight against corruption.

By Funso OLOJO, Editor

The United States Coast Guard’s (USCG) decision to lift the 12-year Condition of Entry (CoE) imposed on vessels calling at Nigerian ports has elicited strong positive reactions from international shipping companies operating in Nigeria, with the carriers describing the development as a major boost to the country’s maritime security credentials and trade prospects.

The shipping lines said the removal of the restriction could improve Nigeria’s image in the international shipping community, facilitate more direct maritime connections with the United States and create fresh opportunities for importers, exporters and shipping operators.

The USCG had imposed the enhanced security regime on vessels that had called at Nigerian ports and were subsequently destined for the United States.

Its removal, according to industry operators, signals growing confidence in the security of Nigeria’s maritime environment after 12 years of additional security requirements.

Reacting to the development, Maersk, one of the world’s largest shipping companies, said the US decision could further strengthen Nigeria’s position in global shipping and encourage carriers to consider expanding their operations.

The Terminal Planning Lead, West Africa, Srijesh Subramanian, described the development as “a welcome move”, saying it would benefit both importers and exporters.

“This is a welcome move which will enable better trade both for the importers as well as the exporters because we have quite a lot of exports going on, lots of Nigerians in the US.

“Shipping companies will be a little more bold in their expansion plans for the future. With the US removal of the Condition of Entry (COE), it is saying that Nigeria looks more like a safer environment than previously perceived,” he said.

Subramanian said the lifting of the restriction reflected improved international confidence in Nigeria’s maritime security, urging the relevant authorities to sustain the gains.

Also reacting, the Nigeria Director of Ocean Network Express (ONE), Stefan Pedersen, congratulated Nigeria on the development, although he noted that the company currently has no direct services between Nigeria and the United States.

“Congratulations to Nigeria on the lifting of the Condition of Entry. It shows the work that NIMASA has been doing all these years has actually paid off, so that is good,” Pedersen said.

According to him, while ONE was not directly affected by the restriction because it does not currently operate direct US services, its removal could make direct trade between Nigeria and the United States easier.

“At the moment ONE does not have any direct sailings to and from the US, so we are not really impacted by this. I’m certain that it would make direct trade with the US through the ports easier.

“When restrictions go away, it usually improves trade, so for our colleagues in the industry that have direct sailings to the US, it’s going to make it easier for them,” he added.

Pacific International Lines (PIL) also welcomed the development, saying it would positively affect Nigeria’s image as a serious maritime country.

The Managing Director of PIL, Ugo Opiah, said the US decision had a significant reputational implication for Nigeria.

“I think it’s a very good one in terms of the image. Of course, the US is categorized as one of, let’s say, the big brother of the world, and most times if you do qualify for things that concern the US, then you are seen as a high-integrity player.

“So for Nigeria, with this being lifted after the number of years that it had been on us, it does give a good sign that we have upped our game in terms of anything to do with security in the maritime industry,” he said.

For Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), the lifting of the restriction could have a more direct operational impact because of its extensive global network and services connecting major ports, including those in the United States.

The Vessel and Terminal Coordinator for MSC, Adesina Omoparuwa, said the restriction had previously necessitated trans-shipment arrangements for some cargo moving between Nigeria and the US.

“Because of this restriction, we have to do some trans-shipments. We do not have direct services to the US like we have now in China.

“Basically, China’s service that we have now, we didn’t have them before. We have to go through trans-shipment ports, but now with this development, it will give us more direct service from the US and opportunities for people that are doing business from the US to come directly down to Nigeria,” Omoparuwa said.

The lifting of the Condition of Entry on vessels that have visited Nigerian ports within their last five port calls and are destined for the United States brings to an end a 12-year regime of enhanced security requirements for such vessels.

The development is also expected to have implications beyond maritime security, particularly for shipping connectivity, cargo routing and Nigeria-US trade.

For industry operators, the removal of the restriction could reduce operational complications associated with additional security requirements and trans-shipment, while creating a more favourable environment for direct shipping services.

The development also represents a significant milestone in the Federal Government’s efforts to strengthen maritime security, improve port competitiveness and restore confidence in Nigeria’s position within the global maritime industry.

However, the reactions from the shipping companies also underline the importance of sustaining the security improvements that led to the US decision, as continued compliance with international maritime security standards will remain critical to Nigeria’s ability to attract more direct shipping services and deepen its participation in global trade.