Blue Economy
Dangote Revives Olokola Free Trade Zone, Plans Nigeria’s Largest Port in Ogun
The President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has announced plans to develop Nigeria’s largest port at the Olokola Free Trade Zone in Ogun State, citing Governor Dapo Abiodun’s investor-friendly policies as a key factor in the decision.
Dangote made this known on Monday during a courtesy visit to Governor Abiodun at his office in Abeokuta. He praised the state’s transformation into a prime investment destination, describing it as Nigeria’s manufacturing hub.
The business mogul recounted previous challenges that forced the company to abandon its investment plans in Olokola and halt operations at its Itori factory, which was demolished twice. However, he credited the governor’s policies for restoring investor confidence and facilitating the company’s return.
“Thanks to your policies and a favorable business climate, we are returning to Olokola. Plans are underway to construct Nigeria’s largest port,” Dangote stated.
He also revealed that Dangote Group had completed two new cement plant lines in Itori with a combined capacity of six million metric tonnes per annum, alongside a 12-million-metric-tonne plant in Ibeshe. Upon completion, the company’s total cement production in Ogun would reach 18 million metric tonnes annually, making it Africa’s top cement-producing region.
Dangote reaffirmed his company’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s economic growth by investing in infrastructure and creating jobs.
In response, Governor Abiodun thanked Dangote for his renewed trust in the state and for his contributions to national development. He also commended Dangote’s global advocacy for Nigeria and his role in inspiring young entrepreneurs.
“Ogun welcomes your renewed investment. Today, March 17, is historic – the same month you broke ground for the Lagos refinery project. You have not only completed the Itori factory but have also chosen to develop Nigeria’s largest port here. For this, I express my profound gratitude,” Abiodun stated.
$3bn Agge Deep Sea Port Back in Focus as FG Vows to Rewrite Nigeria’s Maritime Map
By Oghenewoke Osaweren | Waterways News Reporter | June 5, 2026
For a country whose coastline stretches over 850 kilometres and whose southern waters sit astride one of the busiest shipping corridors in sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria has long punched below its maritime weight. That, the Federal Government now insists, is about to change — and the $3 billion Agge Deep Sea Port project in Bayelsa State is the instrument it has chosen to prove the point.
On Thursday, the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr. Adegboyega Oyetola, issued a forceful reaffirmation of the Federal Government’s commitment to the Agge project, signalling in unmistakable terms that the administration of President Bola Tinubu regards the port not as a legacy promise to be managed quietly, but as a live infrastructure priority with national economic consequences.
The message from Abuja was pointed: Agge is moving — and Nigeria’s maritime map is being redrawn.
The Port That Could Change Everything
Situated in Ekeremor Local Government Area along Bayelsa State’s Atlantic-facing coastline, the Agge Deep Sea Port carries a specification that sets it apart from every existing cargo terminal in the country. Unlike the shallow-draft limitations that have long hobbled operations at Apapa and Tin Can Island — forcing large vessels to lighter cargo offshore before berthing — Agge is designed to receive ultra-large container ships and supertankers directly at quayside.
That single engineering advantage has enormous commercial implications. It means lower freight costs, faster turnaround times, and direct access to international shipping routes without the expensive layovers that currently pad the cost of doing business through Nigerian ports. For importers, exporters, and multinational shippers who have quietly rerouted cargo through Lomé, Cotonou, and Tema rather than wrestle with Nigerian port inefficiencies, Agge presents a compelling reason to come back.
Oyetola’s Case: Jobs, Investment, and a Region Transformed
Speaking through a statement released from Abuja, Oyetola built his case for the project on three pillars — employment, investment attraction, and regional economic transformation.
On jobs, the minister projected thousands of direct and indirect employment opportunities spanning port operations, logistics, freight forwarding, vessel maintenance, fisheries, shipbuilding, and maritime tourism. In a region where structured formal employment has historically been scarce and where oil-driven informal economies have defined working life for generations, those numbers carry social as much as economic significance.
On investment, Oyetola said the ministry is working actively alongside the Bayelsa State Government and relevant federal agencies to ensure that the land, regulatory, and environmental frameworks surrounding the project are fully prepared to receive both local and foreign capital. The minister’s framing was deliberate — this is not a project waiting for investors, but a project being structured to attract them.
On regional transformation, the minister was at his most expansive. The Agge Deep Sea Port, in his telling, is not merely an addition to Nigeria’s port infrastructure inventory. It is a recalibration of the Niger Delta’s economic identity — a shift from a region defined by extraction to one anchored in commerce, trade, and maritime services.
A Federal-State Partnership Holding Firm
One of the more significant signals in Thursday’s statement was Oyetola’s public commendation of Bayelsa State Governor Senator Douye Diri — not as a courtesy, but as an acknowledgment that the federal-state partnership underpinning the project remains intact and functional.
In Nigeria’s complex federal architecture, major infrastructure projects have historically stalled at the seam between federal ambition and state-level execution. The minister’s deliberate recognition of Diri’s alignment with the Federal Government’s Blue Economy agenda suggests that, at least for now, that seam is holding.
The Wider Maritime Stakes
The timing of Thursday’s announcement is not incidental. Nigeria’s port sector is under pressure from multiple directions simultaneously. Apapa, the country’s dominant cargo gateway, continues to haemorrhage efficiency — plagued by gridlock, ageing quay infrastructure, and turnaround delays that rank among the worst in the West African sub-region.
Meanwhile, regional competitors are not standing still. Lomé’s container terminal has expanded aggressively. Cotonou continues to position itself as a transit hub for landlocked Sahelian markets. And Tema, in Ghana, is making a sustained play for West Africa’s transshipment business. Every container that clears through those terminals rather than a Nigerian port represents a leakage of revenue, jobs, and economic activity that Nigeria can ill afford.
Agge, delivered at scale and on time, addresses all of that — not by patching the problems at existing ports, but by creating an entirely new competitive asset on a coastline that has never before hosted deep sea commercial infrastructure.
What the Industry Is Waiting For
For all the weight of Thursday’s commitment, the maritime industry will be watching for the signals that transform ministerial confidence into steel in the ground. A confirmed financial close. A contractor mobilisation date. An environmental impact clearance. A concession agreement signed and published.
The Agge Deep Sea Port has featured in the plans of successive Nigerian administrations — each of which found reasons to defer, delay, or deprioritise. The Tinubu administration’s language around the project is notably more structured and commercially specific than previous iterations, and Oyetola’s ministry has shown a willingness to engage investors and state partners in ways that earlier efforts did not.
But Nigeria’s maritime sector has learned, through long experience, to distinguish between a government that is committed to a project and one that is committed to talking about it. The difference, as always, will be measured not in statements but in delivery.
For now, Agge is back in focus. The Federal Government has made its position clear. The $3 billion question is whether this time, the port actually gets built.
Waterways.ng is Nigeria’s leading maritime news platform, covering ports, shipping, inland waterways, and the blue economy. Follow us for in-depth reporting from across Nigeria’s waterways sector.
Blue Economy
WABOTAN President Raises Alarm Over Prohibitive Water Transport Fares, Urges Government Intervention
WABOTAN President Raises Alarm Over Prohibitive Water Transport Fares, Urges Government Intervention
Fajemirokun warns that rising fuel costs, ageing vessels, and inadequate public investment are pricing commuters off Nigeria’s waterways
By Okeoghene Onoriobe | Waterways News Correspondent
The President of the Waterfront Boat Owners and Transporters Association of Nigeria (WABOTAN), Mr. Tope Fajemirokun, has raised the alarm over the prohibitively high cost of water transportation across Nigeria, warning that unless governments at all levels intervene decisively, the sector will continue to haemorrhage passengers to road transport despite the obvious advantages of the nation’s extensive waterway network. Fajemirokun made the remarks during a live radio broadcast in Lagos, where he painted a stark picture of the economic burden borne by waterway commuters.
Fares Outpacing Road Transport
At the heart of his concern is a cost paradox that should trouble any serious maritime policy observer: water transport, which by its very nature should offer a cheaper and faster alternative to gridlocked Nigerian roads, is in many corridors costing passengers more than the road equivalent. Fajemirokun cited the Badagry-to-CMS run as a telling example, noting that a commuter on that route parts with approximately ₦5,000 per trip each way — amounting to ₦10,000 daily on transportation alone.
“This is one of the major factors discouraging passengers from using the waterways. That is why we are appealing to government at all levels to invest more in the sector,” he said.
Fuel Costs Strangling Operators
Beyond passenger fares, Fajemirokun identified soaring fuel prices as a primary driver of the sector’s operational distress. The post-subsidy-removal fuel environment has dramatically inflated running costs for boat operators, many of whom are already working at the margins of viability. The knock-on effect, he explained, is that operators are increasingly unable to reinvest in their fleets or expand capacity — a vicious cycle that keeps vessel quality low, fares high, and passenger volumes depressed.
“When you are in business, you must continue to improve and invest in it despite the challenges,” he said, acknowledging the burden while calling on government to cushion it through targeted support and soft loans to enable operators to acquire modern, fuel-efficient vessels.
Safety Preparedness as the Rains Arrive
WABOTAN’s president also used the platform to outline the association’s safety readiness agenda as Nigeria enters the rainy season — historically the most hazardous period on the nation’s waterways. He disclosed that WABOTAN had already conducted two safety induction programmes in 2026, with a third planned before August, to be convened in partnership with veteran maritime journalist Frank Meke and involving stakeholders, media, and regulatory agencies.
Fajemirokun commended both the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) and the National Inland Waterway Authority (NIWA) for their collaborative engagement with the association, noting that LASWA’s recent investment in clearing water hyacinth from Lagos waterways was a significant operational safety intervention.
He expressed particular concern about Rivers and Bayelsa States, where proximity to the Atlantic Ocean creates elevated hazard conditions during the rainy season, and said WABOTAN was intensifying sensitisation efforts in those states with NIWA’s support.
On the perennial issue of unsafe banana and wooden boats, Fajemirokun renewed his call for government financial intervention to help operators transition to sturdier, more modern vessels. “Eliminating banana and wooden boats will be easier if government provides the necessary support and investment,” he said. He also commended the Lagos State Government for its ongoing intervention in the sector as a model for other state governments to emulate.
Meke: ‘More Lip Service Than Concrete Action’
Veteran maritime journalist Frank Meke, who also addressed the broadcast, echoed Fajemirokun’s concerns with characteristic directness, contrasting the obvious congestion on Nigerian roads — pointing specifically to the perennial Apapa gridlock — with what he described as insufficiently backed government rhetoric on waterways development.
“Sometimes, there appears to be more lip service than concrete action. The blue economy holds enormous potential,” Meke said, praising WABOTAN for the investments and sacrifices it makes within its resource constraints, while challenging government agencies to demonstrate comparable commitment.
Meke also expanded the geographic lens of the debate, flagging landlocked and riverine states including Kwara, Niger, Benue, and Taraba as jurisdictions where functional inland waterway services could transform the economics of agricultural logistics — providing farmers with cost-effective, reliable means of moving produce to market. He called on the federal government to declare a state of emergency in the water transportation sector, and for soft loans to be made available to operators for vessel acquisition and crew training.
Both speakers agreed on one non-negotiable: life jackets must be worn on every journey, every time, without exception.
Nigeria Watch: Analysis by Waterways News
The concerns voiced by Mr. Fajemirokun and Frank Meke on that Lagos radio programme are neither new nor unfamiliar to this publication’s readers. What is striking, however, is how little has changed in the structural condition of Nigeria’s inland and coastal passenger waterway sector despite years of advocacy from operators and industry voices.
The ₦10,000 daily transport bill on the Badagry-CMS corridor is not merely an inconvenience — it is a market failure signal. Water transport along that axis should, by any rational calculation, be the cheaper and faster option. The fact that it is not speaks to a fundamental absence of the economies of scale that only sustained public investment, modern fleet deployment, and subsidised infrastructure can generate.
WABOTAN’s operators are caught in a trap familiar to many sectors of Nigeria’s economy: the cost of inputs — fuel, maintenance, insurance, compliance — has surged dramatically in the post-subsidy-removal environment, but passenger affordability has not kept pace. The result is an affordability ceiling that suppresses ridership, keeps revenues thin, and starves operators of the capital needed for fleet renewal. Ageing wooden and banana boats are not just a safety hazard; they are the rational economic response of an operator who cannot access affordable credit to do better.
This publication notes that the federal government’s April 2026 approval of the long-delayed CVFF disbursement was a step in the right direction, but the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund was designed primarily for deep-sea and coastal commercial shipping — not for the community-level passenger boat operators that WABOTAN represents. What the inland and passenger waterway sub-sector requires is a dedicated, purpose-designed financing window, with concessional interest rates and simplified access procedures, that speaks directly to the scale and the needs of small and medium-sized waterway operators.
Frank Meke’s invocation of Kwara, Niger, Benue, and Taraba is timely. Nigeria’s waterway potential is habitually discussed in the context of Lagos and the Niger Delta, but the country’s network of navigable rivers — the Niger, the Benue, the Kaduna tributary system — represents an enormous untapped logistics asset for agricultural value chains in the Middle Belt and North Central zones. The failure to activate this network is not merely a transport policy failure; it is an agricultural competitiveness failure with direct consequences for food security and rural income.
As the 2026 rainy season deepens, WABOTAN’s renewed focus on safety education is commendable. But it should not be left to an industry association, operating on voluntary resources, to carry the primary burden of waterway safety sensitisation. NIWA, LASWA, and the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy must resource and lead that function — not merely partner with it from the margins.
By Raymond | Waterways News | Lagos
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UK Delegation Hold Talks with NPA on Navigational Safety, Port Modernisation
By Ighoyota Onaibre | Waterways News Correspondent
A high-level British delegation led by the United Kingdom’s National Hydrographer, Rear Admiral Angus Essenhigh, and the Deputy High Commissioner, Jonny Baxter, has visited the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) headquarters for bilateral discussions centred on hydrography, navigational safety, and port infrastructure development.
The delegation, which also included officials of the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO), was received by NPA Managing Director Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho and the Executive Director, Engineering and Technical Services, along with other senior management officials.
At the heart of the meeting was a shared agenda to deepen the long-standing maritime partnership between Nigeria and the United Kingdom, with particular focus on hydrographic cooperation, nautical charting, and the adoption of S-100 data standards — the next-generation framework for digital maritime navigation being championed globally by the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO).
Dr. Dantsoho used the occasion to highlight the NPA’s ongoing modernisation programme, which spans port rehabilitation, navigational channel improvements, and broad infrastructure upgrades designed to raise operational efficiency and sharpen Nigeria’s competitive position in West African regional trade.
The UK side, for its part, reaffirmed its commitment to supporting Nigeria’s hydrographic development through technical cooperation, digitalisation of navigational services, and professional capacity-building programmes for NPA personnel.
Nigeria Watch
The UKHO visit carries practical significance for Nigeria’s port and shipping ecosystem. Accurate, up-to-date hydrographic data is foundational to safe vessel navigation into Nigerian ports — particularly the notoriously congested approaches to Apapa and Tin Can Island, where channel silting and inadequate charting have long been cited as operational hazards by shipowners and port users.
The S-100 standards framework at the centre of the UK’s technical offer represents a significant leap from the current S-57 electronic chart standard. S-100 enables the integration of multiple data layers — tidal streams, port data, under-keel clearance — into a single dynamic navigational environment. For Nigeria’s ports, which are actively seeking to attract larger vessel calls and position themselves as transshipment hubs, migration to S-100-compliant charting would be a measurable competitive advantage.
Waterways News notes that the UKHO has been a long-standing partner of the Nigerian Navy Hydrographic Office, which carries primary national responsibility for chart production and notices to mariners. The extent to which NPA’s bilateral engagement with the UKHO will be coordinated with the Navy’s hydrographic function — and with NIMASA’s broader maritime domain awareness agenda — will be worth watching as both sides move from courtesy visit to actionable cooperation.
The ball is now in Nigeria’s court to translate diplomatic goodwill into concrete capacity gains that benefit port users, mariners, and the wider blue economy.
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