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By Steve Agbota
Nigeria may be losing as much as N400 billion annually in its maritime sector due to weak policy execution, regulatory loopholes and structural inefficiencies, industry stakeholders have warned.
They are now urging the Federal Government to implement targeted policy reforms capable of repositioning the sector as a true engine of economic growth.
According to findings by Daily Sun, persistent infrastructure deficits, inefficient cargo-handling processes and weak enforcement of maritime laws continue to erode revenue that should ordinarily accrue to the economy. Analysts estimate that between N300 billion and N400 billion could be saved yearly if the right reforms are introduced and effectively enforced.
Beyond direct revenue losses, stakeholders say broader trade inefficiencies, driven by unregulated shipping and terminal charges, regulatory ambiguity and periodic industrial disruptions, may be costing Nigeria between N500 billion and N700 billion annually.
They also identified bureaucratic bottlenecks in documentation and deplorable port access roads as major disincentives to trade. These challenges, they noted, have forced some shipping lines to divert cargo to neighbouring countries with more efficient port systems.
In a financial impact assessment made available to Daily Sun, the Head of Research at the (SEREC), , said structured reforms could significantly reduce the losses.
He recommended a national tariff review and approval framework, alongside mandatory cost-justification disclosures by service providers.
If implemented, he said, such measures could deliver a 10 to 20 per cent reduction in unjustified charges, translating into annual savings of between N200 billion and N400 billion.
However, Nweke cautioned that unless regulatory gaps are urgently addressed, the maritime sector will continue to bleed revenue, with the broader economy bearing losses estimated at N500 billion to N700 billion each year.
For stakeholders, the message is clear: without decisive and targeted reforms, Nigeria’s maritime potential will remain largely untapped.
“If current regulatory gaps persist, Nigeria faces annual trade inefficiency losses estimated at N500bn–N700bn, driven by excessive charges, delays, and uncertainty. It added that this would also lead to rising logistics-driven inflation, adding 0.7–1.2 percentage points to headline inflation annually,” he said.
He stressed that the regulatory gap could lead to erosion of Nigeria’s competitiveness against regional ports, potentially diverting 10–15 per cent of West African transit cargo to neighbouring countries.
He also proposed the creation of a Standing Port Charges Review and Mediation Forum and a multi-stakeholder body for dispute resolution, which would cost an estimated yearly running cost of between N300 million and N500 million and help avoid economic losses valued between N50 billion and N100 billion each year.
At the macro level, he cautioned that continued policy instability in the ports threatens the Marine and Blue Economy growth targets, potentially undermining a projected yearly Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contribution of between N7 trillion and N10 trillion.
He added that efficiency gains from reforms could instead boost GDP by an additional N1 trillion to N2 trillion yearly.
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“SEREC’s recommendations include strengthening regulatory communication and transparency through proactive publication of tariff status and approvals, which would see a reduction in disputes and uncertainty and lowering transaction costs by five to eight per cent across the port value chain,” he said.
He also recommended the enforcement of professional conduct standards, sanctions for unlawful protest conduct and promoting lawful industrial advocacy, which would see the protection of industry credibility and avoidance of litigation risks potentially exceeding N100 billion over time.
The Chief Executive Officer of Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Dr Muda Yusuf, said there is a need to have an effective framework for regulating charges because most of the providers in the maritime sector are not operating in a competitive environment.
He said most of the service providers they are like monopolies or they have significant monopoly powers.
“And once you have that in any system, there has to be a very strong framework to ensure that the users of those services are not exploited. You know, we need to have a framework that we don’t have a regime of profiteering on the part of service providers.
“Because at the end of the day, we are talking about how to bring down inflation, how to reduce the cost of living, how to reduce the cost of production, the cost of operations,” he added.
According to him, all of these things sometimes emanate from the cost at which goods, machinery, raw materials, the cost at which they get out of the port.
“So those charges have serious implications for the economy. So I think this is about stakeholder engagement. The Shippers’ Council needs to be more empowered. I’m not sure that the legislative framework to give them the power of an economic regulator has been passed.
“If it has not been passed, I think we need to expedite action to ensure that it is passed so that they have the muzzle, the regulatory muzzle, regulatory powers to ensure that we have more effective oversight and regulation of charges at the ports.
“We need that in order to ensure that the operators in the economy are properly protected. I think that is, for me, the way to go. But in the meantime, we need to strengthen the level of stakeholder engagement in the maritime sector in order to ensure that everyone is on board and has a win-win situation in that sector,” he said.
Meanwhile, an importer, Emeka Ikenna, said there is a need for urgent policy and regulatory reforms in the maritime sector, noting that, due to a lack of policy reforms, some percentage of Nigerian-bound cargoes is being diverted to neighbouring countries.
“Nigeria has the market and everybody knows this, even the international traders also know this, but we don’t have an efficient regulatory system to facilitate trade. You can’t compare the regulatory system in Ghana to what we have here in Nigeria.
“Go to the port of Thema in Ghana, and you will see how they regulate things there. That is why you see cargo throughput at the Port of Thema alone is higher than what all the Nigerian Ports handle yearly, because the regulatory system there is more efficient and vibrant,” he said.
He said weak implementation of policies, poor enforcement of maritime laws and underutilisation of related industries, like steel, and revenue leakages have continued to cost Nigeria the billions of dollars yearly projected revenue generation from the blue economy sector.
He warned that Nigeria could lose its dominant position in West Africa’s maritime trade to regional rivals Ghana and Senegal if urgent steps are not taken to address the regulatory gaps in the maritime industry.
He said that due to inefficient regulatory gaps and delays in upgrading critical maritime facilities, a competitive gap has been created that neighbouring countries are exploiting to attract more shipping traffic and investment.
He pointed out that the Federal Government, the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, all the government agencies in the maritime sector and critical stakeholders need to come together and draft policies that will drive the nation’s maritime sector to be the hub in Central and West African countries.
