Blue Economy
PEBEC/NPA push to achieve a 7-Day Cargo Dwell Time
By Bode Animashaun, maritime correspondent
The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), in collaboration with the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), recently concluded a three-day high-level stakeholder engagement in Lagos. PEBEC, established in 2016, operates with the mandate to remove critical bottlenecks and bureaucratic constraints of doing business in Nigeria with Vice President Kashim Shettima currently serving as chairman of the Council.
Titled “Achieving a 7-Day Cargo Dwell Time,” the session brought together the Ports and Customs Efficiency Committee (PCEC) under the Business Environment Enhancement Programme Accelerator (BEEPA) framework and hosted by the NPA was geared towards streamlining port processes to bolster the ease of doing business. The engagement is particularly significant given that Nigeria’s ports currently record cargo dwell times 475% above the global average benchmark with cargo clearance costs estimated to be 30% higher than in many regional peers.
The 7-day target aligns with West African regional standards. Nigeria’s average cargo clearance time currently ranges between 18 and 21 days, far higher than the five to seven days recorded in Ghana and four days in Cotonou, Benin Republic. Globally, the standard cargo dwell time benchmark is 4 days making Nigeria’s ports among the least competitive in the region.
The engagement, which held at the Lagos Port Complex (LPC) in Apapa, followed an extensive “shadowing” exercise where officials observed real-time vessel berthing and cargo clearance operations at both the Tincan Island and Lagos Port complexes.
Speaking at the event, PEBEC Director General Zahrah Mustapha emphasized that the session was designed to move beyond identifying hurdles toward implementing long-overdue practical solutions.
“Nigeria loses significantly every day due to operational inefficiencies,” Mustapha stated. “These are not just numbers; they represent missed opportunities, jobs not created, and delayed economic growth. This reform is about resilience and unlocking the nation’s economic potential.”
Mustapha noted that the initiative integrates both government regulators and private sector stakeholders to ensure transparency and accountability, with the ultimate goal of reducing cargo dwell time and improving vessel turnaround time. Vice President Kashim Shettima has affirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to reducing Nigeria’s average cargo clearance time to under seven days by the end of 2026, positioning the country’s ports among the top three most efficient trade gateways in Africa.
Earlier, the Managing Director of the NPA, Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho, who holds a doctorate in Maritime Technology from Liverpool John Moores University and has over 25 years of experience in maritime technology and port management reiterated the Authority’s commitment to supporting PEBEC’s mandates. He highlighted the NPA’s progress including collaborating with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to deploy the Port Community System (PCS) which will serve as the digital backbone for the National Single Window, a move expected to eliminate manual bottlenecks and synchronize port operations.
The National Single Window initiative, expected to be implemented in the first quarter of 2026, is intended to harmonize documentation, minimize human contact, and ensure full transparency in cargo clearance processes.
Demonstrating institutional commitment to reform, the NPA ranked fifth among government agencies in the 2025 PEBEC Business Facilitation Act Performance Report with an 84.2% compliance score standing out through updated service and tariff information, clearer documentary timelines, targeted automation that cut port bottlenecks, improved customer engagement, and stricter internal compliance monitoring.
The outcomes of this engagement are expected to be implemented within the coming months. By closing the operational gaps identified during the port inspections, the NPA and PEBEC aim to create a more competitive maritime environment that attracts investment and facilitates seamless trade. The federal government has approved multiple modernization programmes including rehabilitation and expansion of port infrastructure at Apapa, Tincan Island, Rivers, Onne, Warri, and Calabar ports, signaling comprehensive commitment to port sector transformation.