The National President of the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA), Lucky Amiwero, has called for a comprehensive overhaul of Nigeria’s port system to address inefficiencies and strengthen the country’s competitiveness in regional maritime trade.
He proposed the establishment of a committee of maritime experts to review the country’s entire port system, including the Lagos Port Complex, Tin Can Island Port, Lekki Deep Sea Port and Calabar Port.
He said the review should focus on addressing the challenges confronting the ports and developing a system that would enable Nigeria compete effectively with other countries in the West and Central African sub-region.
This comes as the Federal Government on Sunday, approved the modernisation and upgrade of Onne, Rivers, Delta and Calabar ports, following its earlier approval for Apapa and Tin Can Island ports in Lagos, aimed at reducing the concentration of cargo traffic around Lagos and creating additional efficient gateways for international trade.
Amiwero spoke on Monday during the unveiling of his achievement nomenclature on interventions in various national economic issues, and the launch of two books, organised to mark his 73rd birthday in Lagos.
“There is need for us to really set up a committee to look at the whole thing, Lekki Deep Sea Port, Apapa Port, Tin Can, Calabar Port so that we can redesign our port system,” he said.
Amiwero said Nigeria is losing transit and transshipment cargo to neighbouring countries, including Ghana, Togo, Benin Republic and Cote d’Ivoire.
He said the country had a large share of cargo within the West and Central African sub-region but was not benefiting adequately because of inefficiencies in its port system.
“We have almost 78 per cent of the cargo within the West and Central African sub-region. Where are we benefiting? We have a lot of ports,” he said.
Comparing Nigeria’s port system with that of Ghana, Amiwero said the West African country had fewer ports but was attracting cargo because of efficiency.
“How many ports does Ghana have? Just one. The other one is fish port. Their throughput is higher than Nigeria because of efficiency,” he said.
Amiwero said Nigeria should concentrate on developing one major deep seaport that could serve as a transshipment and load centre, rather than establishing several ports that lack the infrastructure and cargo to operate efficiently.
“You only need one seaport which is a transshipment centre, a load centre, so that that seaport can now accommodate Nigerian goods,” he said.
Amiwero also raised concerns about the infrastructure at the Lekki Deep Sea Port, particularly its rail connectivity and capacity to handle largest container vessels.
He said Nigeria needs to engage professionals and maritime experts, rather than politicians, in addressing the challenges facing the port industry.
“We must bring in experts, not politicians, to change the narrative of the port industry. Our port is suffering because of lack of procedures that are not properly enhanced,” he said.
The NCMDLCA president also advocated increased transshipment activities at Nigerian ports, saying the country would benefit economically from attracting mother vessels.
He said the failure to attract such vessels meant Nigeria was losing the associated freight and other economic benefits to neighbouring countries.
Amiwero further criticised what he described as political interference in port and customs operations, urging the government to ensure that the maritime sector was administered according to clear laws and professional standards.
He also called for clarity on port concession and lease arrangements, particularly where agreements had expired.
According to him, Nigeria must harmonise the activities of relevant stakeholders and develop a legally grounded framework for managing the country’s ports.
He said the concentration of cargo in Lagos is also linked to the location of major manufacturing companies and markets, arguing that simply developing ports in other parts of the country would not guarantee cargo unless there were industries and destinations to support them.
“Lagos is the market. You have the manufacturing sectors here. Most of the companies you are talking about are here,” he said.
Amiwero said his interventions in Nigeria’s economic affairs over the years were documented in the books unveiled at the event.
He said the publications covered issues involving importers, licensed customs agents, manufacturers, government agencies, finance, budget, transport, trade and investment, customs, the Nigerian Ports Authority, the Shippers’ Council (now NPERA) and maritime labour.
He added that his interventions over the years were extensive and could not be fully captured in a few publications.
