Follow Us on Google
By Steve Agbota
Experts in Nigeria’s maritime sector have said that Nigeria is currently losing over N1 trillion annually due to the lack of automation and modernisation at the nation’s seaports.
The experts stated this at the 2025 National Discourse, organised by Maritime Nigeria, where a flagship gathering focused on “Port Modernisation: Automation, Regulation, Administration and Competencies,”
pointed out that the nation’s critical port infrastructure is structurally constrained, resulting in staggering economic losses estimated at over N1 trillion yearly.
In his paper, Dr Oluwasegun Musa, Chief Consultant, Widescope International Group, identified the core problems as structural inefficiencies and logistical chaos at Apapa and Tin Can ports, which have caused cargo dwell time to often exceed 21 days, severely eroding Nigeria’s trade competitiveness.
While acknowledging that administrative interventions, such as the electronic call-up system (Ètò), have restored some operational discipline, he said that these measures merely address symptoms and are insufficient for comprehensive structural modernisation.
However, he presented a four-pillar strategy for transformation, namely; administration, digitalisation, automation, and competency, while mandating the immediate establishment of an Independent Economic Regulator to enforce fair pricing and contractual adherence.
According to him, automation requires a dual-track strategy: full automation for greenfield projects like Lekki Deep Seaport and a phased, process-simplified semi-automation for legacy brownfield sites.
“The 2006 port concession program yielded uneven results, as initial private sector investments were undercut by pervasive regulatory gaps, political interference, and infrastructural decay.
“To transition from a bottleneck economy to a competitive maritime hub, Nigeria must adopt a synchronised, multi-pillar strategy, mirroring the transformational successes of regional leaders like Dakar, Senegal, and global players like Tanger Med, Morocco.
Other News
“The National Single Window (NSW) must achieve full operational status by Q1 2026, enforced by a non-negotiable paperless mandate, and warned that without decisive government-backed technical training, the critical IT and maintenance skills gap would undermine the return on investment (ROI) for any automated system,” he added.
While supporting this view on infrastructure and planning, Captain Warredi Enisuoh, Executive Director of Operations and Technical at Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, said that port automation requires a very high level of superior thinking and superior reasoning.
“The legacy ports; Apapa Port and Tin Can Island Port, were built long ago, and non-port activities have since crowded the areas, necessitating massive and costly resettlement efforts, which could make automation more expensive than greenfield development,” he pointed out.
While illustrating the interdependence of automation, he noted that if traffic congestion occurs outside the port gate, the automated systems inside the port terminals become useless, as the port and all the robots would be standing still.
He stated that while the goal is achievable, the best and easiest path forward is through greenfield development coupled with strategic private sector engagement.
Earlier in his welcome address, Mr Kelvin Kagbare, Managing Editor of Maritime Nigeria, said that the event was a call to action for the Federal Government to prioritise port reform and modernisation.
He emphasised that Nigeria must invest in digital infrastructure, promote private sector participation, and develop the skills and competencies needed to drive growth and competitiveness in the maritime sector.
However, the challenges facing Nigeria’s ports are numerous, including congestion, inefficiency, and inadequate infrastructure.
He commended the efforts of the organising committee and urged attendees to remember that the future of Nigeria’s maritime sector depends on collective resolve to modernise, regulate, and empower.
