The Africa Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria (APFFLON) has congratulated the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), under the leadership of its Executive Secretary/CEO, Dr. Pius Akutah, and its management on the historic assent by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency (NPERA) Act, 2026.
APFFLON particularly commended President Tinubu for giving statutory backing to Nigeria’s port economic regulatory framework. It described the new law as a major milestone in the long-running effort to establish a stronger and more effective economic regulatory system for the nation’s ports.
Speaking on behalf of APFFLON, the National President, Otunba Frank Ogunojemite, described the development as “a new dawn for Nigerian ports and a historic opportunity to finally sanitise the port system and make it truly competitive.”
According to him, the time for port reforms is now.
“With the NPERA Act now in place, the Nigerian Shippers’ Council must move decisively from regulatory responsibility to effective regulatory enforcement. Nigerian port users have endured arbitrary charges, excessive costs, operational bottlenecks, unnecessary delays and practices that make our ports less competitive than they should be.
“We therefore expect the new regulatory regime to bring sanity, transparency, accountability and fairness into the port system.”
APFFLON urged the Shippers’ Council to make port sanitation and comprehensive reform a priority under the new legal framework. This should include a thorough review of port tariffs and charges, enforcement of service standards, elimination of arbitrary and duplicative charges, reduction of cargo dwell time, improvement of empty-container return arrangements, protection of freight forwarders and importers from exploitative practices, and strict compliance with concession agreements.
The association also called for a clear delineation of responsibilities among the Nigerian Shippers’ Council,Nigerian Ports Authority, CRFFN,NIMASA and other maritime agencies to prevent duplication, regulatory conflicts and institutional rivalry. The objective should be one coordinated port system serving the national economy.
APFFLON believes that the success of the NPERA Act should ultimately be measured by its impact on the ordinary port user: lower cost of doing business, faster cargo clearance, predictable charges, efficient service delivery and a more competitive Nigerian port.
APFFLON pledged its continued cooperation with the Shippers’ Council and other maritime stakeholders while urging the Council to use its new statutory authority courageously, fairly and transparently.
The NPERA Act has provided the legal foundation. Now is the time to clean up, reform and reposition Nigerian ports for the benefit of shippers, freight forwarders, terminal operators, shipping companies and, ultimately, the Nigerian economy.
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