Gloria Odion, Maritime reporter

Nigeria’s ongoing port modernisation and infrastructure upgrade programme has earned international recognition, with two of the country’s busiest seaports—Apapa and Tin Can Island Ports—listed among the world’s top 20 most improved ports by the World Bank.

The recognition came in the World Bank’s 2025 Container Port Performance Index (CPPI), released in June 2026, which highlighted both Lagos ports in its global ranking of ports that recorded the most significant improvements in operational efficiency.

The CPPI provides a consistent, data-driven assessment of port performance worldwide by measuring the time vessels spend in port.

The index enables stakeholders to compare port efficiency across different countries and over time, while identifying areas of progress and operational challenges.

The latest ranking is a major endorsement of the Federal Government’s efforts to modernise Nigeria’s port infrastructure and enhance trade facilitation through reforms spearheaded by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).

According to the Authority, the achievement further reinforces its contribution to sustaining Nigeria’s trade surplus by providing efficient port services that support growing import and export activities.

Nigeria has recorded consecutive annual trade surpluses since 2024, with the most recent figure standing at N7.54 trillion in the first quarter of 2026, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Reacting to the development, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Abubakar Dantsoho, attributed the achievement to the Federal Government’s investor-friendly policies and the ongoing port modernisation drive.

“With the investor-friendliness of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu providing the gravitas needed for increased investment to implement our port infrastructure and equipment modernisation drive, coupled with the unflinching support of the Honourable Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola, we have all it takes to advance the fortunes of trade and boost the national economy,” Dantsoho stated.

The World Bank recognition is expected to further strengthen investor confidence in Nigeria’s maritime sector and support ongoing efforts to position the country’s ports as competitive gateways for regional and international trade.

Funso OLOJO, Editor

The Federal Operations Unit (FOU) Zone ‘C’, Owerri, of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has recorded a major anti-smuggling success with the interception of a large consignment of smuggled foreign vegetable oil valued at over N403.5 million.

The seizure followed strategic intelligence gathering and coordinated operations by officers of the Unit, leading to the interception of two trailers conveying the prohibited products.

Items seized include:
3,310 jerry cans (25-litre kegs) of Super Delicious vegetable oil;
10 jerry cans (10-litre kegs) of Super Delicious vegetable oil;
20 cartons of 5-litre sunflower vegetable oil; and
20 cartons of 3-litre sunflower vegetable oil.

According to the Unit, operatives intercepted one of the trucks carrying the consignment at about 10:00 p.m. on May 9, 2026, along the Ninth Mile axis of Enugu State, while the second truck was intercepted on June 7, 2026, along the Onitsha–Agbor Highway, following credible intelligence.

The Command disclosed that the seized goods have a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N403,491,000.
Speaking on the seizure, the Controller of FOU Zone ‘C’, Bashir Balogun, described the operation as a significant blow to economic saboteurs whose activities undermine local industries and the nation’s economy.

He noted that the illegal importation of foreign vegetable oil negatively affects domestic production, technology transfer, job creation, and foreign exchange earnings.

Balogun emphasized that the operation demonstrates the Service’s unwavering commitment to enforcing the provisions of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2022 and the Federal Government’s fiscal and protective policies prohibiting the importation of foreign vegetable oil.

He warned individuals and syndicates involved in smuggling to desist from such activities, stressing that the Nigeria Customs Service would continue to deploy intelligence-driven enforcement strategies to safeguard public health, national security, and the domestic economy.

The seized vegetable oil remains in the custody of the Service while investigations into the smuggling network continue.

Monday Discourse with Ibrahim Nasiru

Nigeria’s maritime industry is trying to rush into a bright future while carrying a very dark past.

Right now, the Federal Government is making big moves to launch a new national shipping line through high profile Public Private Partnerships(PPP) with global shipping giants.

It sounds like a great plan under the “Renewed Hope” Blue Economy agenda.

But we have to ask a blunt question: how can you float a new fleet when the foundation of your old national carrier is still completely underwater?

On paper, the economic argument for a new shipping line makes perfect sense.

Nigeria loses roughly $10 billion every year to foreign shipowners who carry our oil and gas exports.

Building a domestic fleet would keep that humongous freight money inside our economy, create thousands of jobs, and give the country its pride back as a maritime power.

But the stubborn stance taken by the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) and the veterans of the defunct Nigerian National Shipping Line (NNSL) is not just emotional grumbling.

It is a matter of basic survival and law.

Almost thirty years after the NNSL was liquidated, thousands of retirees have still not received their final severance pay.

Many have died in absolute poverty, waiting for bank alerts that never came.

This creates a deep trust issue that no amount of fancy Port infrastructure can fix.

Launching a brand-new fleet while ignoring the very people who pioneered the seafaring profession in Nigeria sends a terrifying message to the young cadets in our maritime academies.

It tells them that a life at sea under the Nigerian flag offers zero long term security.

Government officials can argue all they want that this new private sector model is a fresh start separate from past government failure.

But the average worker standing at the jetty does not differentiate between ministries; they see the government as one single entity.

The Ministry of Finance has continually failed to release the approved funds for these retirees, even though officials keep claiming the payment process is almost finished.

This endless delay threatens the entire maritime agenda.

The truth is, we need reconciliation before we talk about refloating any shipping line.

If the government can magically find hundreds of millions of dollars for Port modernization and vessel financing, they can easily find the funds to pay off these old debts.

Ignoring these veterans is a guarantee for industrial strikes and legal battles that will freeze new investments before the ships even arrive.

For Nigeria to dominate Africa’s maritime space, it must prove that it actually values its workers as much as its cargo.

A new shipping line should not just bury the ghost of the NNSL. It needs to be an evolution that begins by paying the deep debt owed to the men and women who first carried our flag across the world’s oceans.

A nation that treats its pioneers like garbage cannot expect loyalty from the next generation.

Chief Ibrahim Nasiru, a public affairs analyst,writes from Abuja.