The Federal Government has begun a major restructuring of Nigeria’s port governance system, with the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr Adegboyega Oyetola, ordering the transfer of Inland Dry Port (IDP) functions from the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) to the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).
Oyetola disclosed this in a statement issued by his Special Adviser, Dr Bolaji Akinola, in Abuja on Thursday.
TheFact Daily gathered that the transition follows President Bola Tinubu’s assent to the NPERA Act, 2026, which formally establishes a statutory economic regulator for Nigeria’s port sector after about two decades of efforts to create such an institution.
The NSC had operated as the country’s interim port economic regulator since 2014 and will now transmute into NPERA under the new law.
Minister Oyetola also directed the immediate constitution of a ministerial committee to supervise the transition of the NSC into the newly established Nigeria Ports Economic Regulatory Agency (NPERA).
According to Oyetola, the restructuring is intended to ensure that NPERA focuses exclusively on economic regulation, including tariff and charge regulation, promotion of competition, licensing, service standards, commercial dispute resolution and protection of port users.
“We must get the transition right. The establishment of NPERA is a landmark reform, and the process of moving from the Nigerian Shippers’ Council to the Nigeria Ports Economic Regulatory Agency must be carefully managed,” the minister said.
He explained that the ministerial committee would provide oversight for the transition and ensure that responsibilities were assigned to the appropriate institutions.
“The ministerial committee will provide the necessary oversight to ensure that the transition is seamless and that every function is domiciled in the appropriate institution,” Oyetola added.
The minister said separating regulation from operations would also strengthen confidence in the country’s port system and reduce the risk of conflicts of interest.
“The emergence of NPERA marks a new chapter in the governance of Nigeria’s port sector. It is therefore important that the new economic regulator is freed from functions that are not compatible with economic regulation,” he said.
“A regulator cannot function as an operator and, at the same time, be expected to be perceived as an unbiased referee.”
Under the new arrangement, NPERA is expected to serve as an independent economic referee, while operational and infrastructure-related responsibilities would be handled by agencies with the relevant mandates and capacity.
Oyetola said the IDP transfer should not be seen as government abandoning the inland dry port programme, but rather as an attempt to better integrate the facilities into the country’s wider port network.
“We are committed to strengthening the development of the Inland Dry Ports by placing their promotion within the agency with the appropriate operational and infrastructure mandate,” he said.
“The ultimate objective is to create a more efficient and integrated port system that serves the entire country.”
The minister said the clearer division of responsibilities would enhance transparency and provide a more predictable operating environment for port users, investors, terminal operators, shipping companies and other stakeholders.
The reforms effectively reposition NPERA as the economic regulator, while the NPA takes responsibility for integrating inland dry ports into the broader operational and infrastructure framework of the nation’s port system.
