Blue Economy
Akutah Draws the Line: NSC Chief Tells Shipping Lines and Freight Forwarders to End Tariff War Now
Akutah Draws the Line: NSC Chief Tells Shipping Lines and Freight Forwarders to End Tariff War Now
By Emetena Ikuku | Waterways News Correspondent | Lagos
The Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) has put both shipping companies and freight forwarders on notice — the sector cannot afford to remain locked in a tariff standoff, and the time for resolution is now.
Speaking at a high-stakes stakeholders’ forum held Tuesday at the Council’s Lagos headquarters, NSC Executive Secretary and CEO Dr. Pius Akutah delivered what amounted to a direct warning to all parties: continued disagreement over the approved 30 per cent tariff increase risks destabilising Nigeria’s ports at a moment the economy can least afford it.
Nigeria’s maritime sector cannot afford a standoff at this critical time
“Nigeria’s maritime sector cannot afford a standoff at this critical time,” Akutah told the gathering of shipping companies, freight forwarders, importers, and exporters. He urged all sides to prioritise dialogue, reminding them that as the nation’s port economic regulator, the Council exists to protect both consumers and service providers — and that it intends to do exactly that.
The 30 per cent tariff increase, he explained, was not plucked from thin air. It was carefully calibrated to balance the financial sustainability of shipping operations against the wider burden on Nigeria’s economy. Shipping companies, he revealed, had initially pushed for increases ranging from 150 to 200 per cent — figures the Council rejected outright as economically reckless. The approved 30 per cent, Akutah insisted, was sufficient to keep operators afloat without crushing businesses and consumers.
Crucially, he clarified that the approved figure is a ceiling, not a floor. Operators are free to implement lower increments — 10 or 20 per cent — depending on the outcome of direct negotiations with their counterparts. Several companies, he noted, have already begun those conversations.
The March 2026 suspension of the tariff implementation, Akutah maintained, was deliberate — designed to buy time for broader consultation across the maritime value chain. That window, he made clear, should now be used productively, not squandered on posturing.
He also addressed the flashpoint that ignited much of the tension: the conduct of a shipping agency chief executive whose remarks had inflamed freight forwarders and hardened positions on both sides. While he acknowledged the incident, Akutah was firm that personal friction must not be allowed to derail an industry-wide settlement.
Stakeholders at the forum were broadly supportive of a tariff adjustment in principle, but sharp in their criticism of how the process unfolded. Jamilu Umar, President of the National Shippers’ Association of Nigeria, made the distinction plainly: the problem was never the increase itself, but the failure to bring all parties into the conversation before decisions were announced. The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria backed that position, calling for a binding requirement that shipping companies consult stakeholders before any future rate changes take effect.
From the operators’ side, Boma Alabi, President of the Shipping Association of Nigeria, acknowledged the difficult operating environment driving the tariff push — including a new minimum wage benchmark of ₦200,000 within the subsector — but accepted that the 30 per cent fell below what the industry had hoped for. She called for sustained collaboration to build a more competitive and resilient maritime sector.
The message from all sides, then, is largely the same: the tariff must be adjusted, but the path to implementation must be paved with genuine engagement. Akutah’s challenge to the industry is to get that done — and quickly.
Waterways News | Lagos | April 15, 2026
Tinubu Places Hydrography at Heart of Nigeria’s Maritime Agenda — Matawalle
By Okeoghene Onoriobe, Lagos Correspondent
The Federal Government has signalled a renewed commitment to hydrography as a strategic pillar of Nigeria’s maritime development, with the Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Bello Muhammad Matawalle, declaring that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration has placed the discipline at the centre of the nation’s maritime priorities.
Matawalle made the declaration on Wednesday in Abuja while receiving the Hydrographer of the Federation and Chief Executive Officer of the National Hydrographic Agency (NHA), Rear Admiral O.O. Fadahunsi, who led a management delegation on a courtesy visit to the minister.
Federal Government Reaffirms Support for NHA
In a statement released through his Personal Assistant on Media, Ahmad Dan-Wudil, the minister said the Federal Government remains firmly committed to strengthening Nigeria’s hydrographic infrastructure to support improved marine navigation, defence operations, and ocean-based economic activities.
Matawalle stressed that the National Hydrographic Agency occupies a critical position in Nigeria’s broader maritime ambitions, particularly in the Gulf of Guinea — a zone where overlapping concerns over maritime security and resource governance continue to demand sustained governmental attention.
He noted that hydrographic work underpins the country’s emerging Blue Economy agenda, which seeks to expand maritime trade while ensuring the sustainable exploitation of ocean and riverine resources.
Nigeria Positioned for Regional Leadership
The minister expressed confidence that existing policy frameworks under the Renewed Hope administration have positioned Nigeria to assume a leadership role in hydrography across the West African sub-region. He pledged that government support would be sustained to improve navigational safety, enhance maritime security, and deepen scientific data generation to serve national development objectives.
Rear Admiral Fadahunsi, for his part, commended the minister for what he described as consistent support and visionary leadership. He affirmed the agency’s readiness to work in concert with relevant ministries, departments, and agencies to strengthen intergovernmental coordination and build greater hydrographic resilience. Both parties indicated that the meeting focused on expanding Nigeria’s hydrographic capacity in line with global maritime standards.
Nigeria Watch
For the Nigerian maritime sector, this development carries significant operational implications.
Hydrography — the science of measuring and describing the physical features of navigable waters — is the often-overlooked backbone of safe shipping, port operations, and offshore resource extraction. Without current, accurate hydrographic data, vessels navigating Nigeria’s coastal waters, the Niger Delta creeks, and the nation’s inland waterways do so at elevated risk.
The National Hydrographic Agency, which is mandated to produce and maintain nautical charts covering Nigerian waters, has historically operated with limited visibility in national maritime policy discussions. Its elevation to a stated priority under the Tinubu administration — articulated at the level of the Defence Ministry — signals a more integrated, security-conscious approach to maritime domain awareness.
For port operators, shipping companies, and offshore energy stakeholders, a well-funded and operationally capable NHA translates directly to more reliable navigational data, reduced insurance risk premiums, and safer routing in Nigeria’s busiest sea lanes. For NIMASA and the Nigerian Navy, improved hydrographic coverage strengthens the infrastructure for maritime domain awareness and threat response in the Gulf of Guinea, where Nigeria continues to assert its role as the dominant maritime power.
The blue economy dimension is equally noteworthy. Hydrographic surveys are a prerequisite for viable offshore wind energy development, aquaculture zoning, and the delimitation of maritime boundaries — all areas where Nigeria’s policy ambitions have outpaced technical groundwork. If this stated presidential prioritisation translates into budgetary commitments and institutional capacity-building for the NHA, it could mark a foundational shift in how Nigeria approaches its vast but under-mapped maritime estate.
Stakeholders will be watching to see whether the rhetoric of prioritisation is matched by concrete resource allocation in the next budget cycle.
NIMASA Positions Nigeria as Regional Hub for Digital Seafarer Certification
Agency hosts Gambian officials on four-day knowledge exchange visit
By Okeoghene Onoriobe | Waterways News
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has taken another stride in cementing Nigeria’s status as a reference point for maritime digitalisation in Africa, hosting a delegation from the Gambia Maritime Administration (GMA) on a four-day study visit centred on seafarer certification systems and regulatory best practices.
The visit, which brought together officials from both West African maritime authorities, underscored the deepening of regional cooperation in building secure, efficient and internationally compliant frameworks for seafarer documentation — an area in which Nigeria has recorded measurable progress under the current administration.
Nigeria’s Digital Credentials on Display
Speaking on behalf of NIMASA Director-General, Dr. Dayo Mobereola, the agency’s Executive Director of Operations, Fatai Adeyemi, framed the engagement as both a diplomatic milestone and a validation of Nigeria’s expanding footprint in African maritime governance.
Adeyemi said NIMASA was pleased to share its hard-won experience in digitalising seafarer documentation and certification processes, observing that the Gambia’s decision to study Nigeria’s model reflected growing international recognition of the country’s progress in maritime administration and human capital development.
“There is always something to learn from one another. Such engagements strengthen regional cooperation and help build a more efficient and globally competitive maritime sector across Africa,” Adeyemi said.
He credited the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, headed by Minister Adegboyega Oyetola, with providing the policy direction and institutional support that has driven NIMASA’s digital transformation agenda in recent years.
Scope of the Exchange
During technical sessions held across the visit, officials from both agencies engaged on the issuance of seafarers’ medical certificates, examination procedures, Certificates of Proficiency, and the anti-fraud measures designed to bolster the credibility and international recognition of certification documents.
The sessions were described as practically oriented, with demonstrations of NIMASA’s digital platforms forming a key component of the programme.
Leader of the Gambian delegation, Falu Sey — who serves as Manager of Ship Registry and Seafarers Affairs at the GMA — said Nigeria was specifically selected because of its track record in maritime development, digital transformation and Blue Economy policy implementation. Sey said the insights gained from the visit would directly inform efforts to modernise maritime administration and improve service delivery standards in Gambia.
Nigeria Watch
For Nigeria’s maritime sector, the Gambian study visit carries significance beyond diplomacy. NIMASA’s emergence as a preferred knowledge partner for peer African maritime authorities represents a dividend of the sustained investment in its digital infrastructure — including the modernisation of its seafarer certification and ship registry platforms that has gathered pace under Dr. Mobereola’s leadership.
The visit also arrives at a moment when NIMASA has been projecting Nigeria’s maritime governance credentials on the international stage. Just days ago, the agency signed a landmark ship registry modernisation partnership with Malta’s flag administration on the sidelines of Posidonia 2026 in Athens — another signal that Nigeria is actively positioning itself within the architecture of global maritime compliance and administration.
For Nigerian maritime stakeholders — from shipowners and crewing agencies to port operators and freight forwarders — the broader implication is that a more regionally authoritative NIMASA translates into stronger bilateral frameworks, more harmonised certification standards across West Africa, and potentially smoother crew documentation processes for Nigerian seafarers operating across the sub-region.
The question the sector will be watching is whether these gains in soft power and institutional diplomacy are matched by continued investment in NIMASA’s domestic infrastructure, including the resolution of longstanding concerns around turnaround times for seafarer documentation at home.
Waterways News | waterwaysnews.ng | Covering Nigeria’s Maritime, Ports, Shipping and Blue Economy
Lekki Deep Sea Port Races Towards Capacity Limit as Phase 2 Expansion Plans Take Shape
Governor Sanwo-Olu signals imminent commencement of next development phase; port MD cites AfCFTA opportunity as expansion rationale
By Okeoghene Onoriobe, Lagos Correspondent | Waterways News | June 12, 2026
Less than five years after receiving its first vessel, the Lekki Deep Sea Port is approaching the ceiling of its installed capacity — a development that Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu described as a testament to the facility’s commercial success, even as it signals an urgent need for further infrastructure investment.
Speaking at the Invest Lagos Summit 3.0, held on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Governor Sanwo-Olu announced that construction work on the port’s Phase 2 development will commence in the near term, positioning Lagos to retain its competitive edge as West Africa’s dominant maritime and logistics hub.
“Within five years, it is moving to Phase 2 because it is almost reaching the full potential of its installed capacity,” the Governor declared, framing the development not merely as aspiration but as an already-funded and progressing project.
AfCFTA Drives Expansion Logic
The Governor situated the Phase 2 push squarely within the continental trade architecture unlocked by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which has created a single market of more than 1.4 billion people with a combined GDP exceeding $3 trillion.
For the Lekki Port management and Lagos State alike, AfCFTA is not abstract policy — it is live commercial pressure. Cargo volumes moving through the Lekki corridor have grown rapidly since the port commenced operations, and its strategic location outside the congestion corridors of Lagos Island positions it as a natural gateway for goods transiting into the Nigerian hinterland and beyond into the landlocked economies of West and Central Africa.
Port MD Endorses Investment Climate
Wang Qiang, Managing Director of Lekki Port, used the Invest Lagos Summit to commend the Lagos State Government’s policy consistency, citing what he described as a stable and forward-looking environment for long-term maritime investment.
He outlined that the Phase 2 expansion would focus on widening the port’s cargo-handling capacity, improving logistics efficiency along the Lekki corridor, and drawing additional global shipping lines and logistics operators into the facility. The expansion, he added, would reinforce Lekki Port’s standing as a premier West African trade gateway under the AfCFTA framework.
What Phase 2 Means for the Sector
For Nigerian port operators, freight forwarders, terminal concessionaires, and shipowners, the Phase 2 announcement carries significant commercial implications. Lekki’s rapid approach to full installed capacity — if not addressed — risks replicating the congestion dynamics that have long afflicted Apapa and Tin Can Island, undermining the port’s core value proposition as a modern, efficient deep-sea alternative.
Timely Phase 2 construction would expand berth availability, deepen draught access for ultra-large container vessels, and reduce pre-berthing waiting times — factors that directly determine shipping line rotation decisions and freight rate competitiveness.
NIGERIA WATCH
The Lekki Phase 2 announcement, if backed by firm timelines and financial close in the near term, could reshape the competitive dynamics of Nigerian port development. Several deep-sea port projects — including the proposed Ibom Deep Sea Port in Akwa Ibom State and the long-discussed Badagry and Olokola facilities — are still at feasibility or pre-construction stages. Lekki’s ability to fast-track a Phase 2 expansion, building on existing investor confidence, Chinese development finance relationships, and operational momentum, gives it a structural advantage over greenfield contenders.
The National Ports Authority (NPA) and the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy will need to align on concession framework adjustments that accommodate Phase 2, including land allocation, access road infrastructure, and potential rail connectivity to the Lekki Free Trade Zone. NIMASA’s role in ensuring that expanded port capacity also translates into cabotage fleet utilisation and Nigerian seafarer employment will equally come under scrutiny as the expansion progresses.
The broader question for policymakers is whether Lekki’s success can be replicated as a model — or whether it remains an isolated enclave of port competitiveness in an otherwise fragmented national port system.
Waterways News | Your authoritative voice on Nigeria’s maritime, ports, and blue economy sector | www.waterwaysnews.ng
Oil and Gas3 months agoTantita’s Pipeline Deal: $144m Contract, Rising Output, and the Questions that Deserve Answers
- MARITIME TRADE & SHIPPING3 months ago
World’s Largest Container Ship Sets New Maritime Record with 22,233 TEUs on Single Voyage
- Blue Economy4 months ago
Nigeria’s Coast Guard Bill: A Solution in Search of a Problem?
