Blue Economy
The ₦1.56 Trillion Paradox: When One Port Generates 149 Times a Ministry’s Budget
Nigeria’s maritime sector has produced a mathematical contradiction so stark it defies logic: Tin Can Island Port Command generated ₦1.56 trillion in revenue for 2025, yet the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy has proposed a mere ₦10.5 billion budget for 2026 to oversee the entire sector.
By Bode Animashaun
Nigeria’s maritime sector has produced a mathematical contradiction so stark it defies logic: Tin Can Island Port Command generated ₦1.56 trillion in revenue for 2025, yet the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy has proposed a mere ₦10.5 billion budget for 2026 to oversee the entire sector.
The numbers tell a story of extraordinary productivity strangled by inadequate investment. One customs command alone generates 149 times what the ministry responsible for ports, shipping, inland waterways, and fisheries is requesting to operate for an entire year.
Record-Breaking Performance Amid Resource Scarcity
Speaking with journalists last week, Comptroller Frank Onyeka of Tin Can Island Port Command revealed that as of December 23, 2025, his command had not only hit its revenue target but exceeded it by ₦51.8 billion. This surplus alone is nearly five times the ministry’s entire budget proposal.
The comptroller attributed this landmark achievement to “targeted administrative reforms, improved processes and collective responsibility.” But the centrepiece of his success story was the One-Stop Shop initiative — designed to eliminate the multiple alerts and delays that have plagued Nigerian ports for decades.
“We deliberately addressed multiple and unnecessary alerts, which previously slowed clearance processes and created room for abuse,” Onyeka explained, noting that the B’Odogwu trade modernization system played a crucial role in the command’s unprecedented performance.
The results speak for themselves. In August 2025, Tin Can Island recorded ₦16.4 billion in a single day — the highest daily revenue in the command’s history.
The Ministry’s Impossible Mission
While one port command celebrates record revenues, Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, appeared before a joint sitting of the Senate Committee on Marine Transport and House committees with a sobering message: the ₦10.5 billion budget proposal for 2026 is “grossly insufficient to execute the ministry’s mandate.”
The proposed allocation breaks down to ₦8.24 billion for capital expenditure, ₦453.86 million for overheads, and ₦1.81 billion for personnel costs. According to Minister Oyetola, this would only sustain minimal operational continuity rather than deliver meaningful reforms or sectoral growth.
But the reality is even grimmer than the proposal suggests. In 2025, the ministry’s revised capital budget of ₦3.53 billion recorded actual cash release of just ₦202.47 million — a mere 1.7%. If this pattern continues, the ministry might receive only ₦178.5 million for capital projects in 2026, even if the full budget is approved.
A Sector Strangled by Its Own Success
The ministry oversees subsectors that handle more than 90% of Nigeria’s international trade by volume. Yet its revenue-generating agencies — NPA, NIMASA, and the Nigerian Shippers’ Council — face what Minister Oyetola described as operational constraints due to excessive deductions at source by the office of the accountant-general.
“Although these agencies are self-funding and making significant remittances to the consolidated revenue fund, their operations are constrained by excessive deductions,” the minister told lawmakers. “These deductions have weakened liquidity and reduced operational flexibility, contributing to port congestion, higher logistics costs, cargo delays, revenue losses, and inflationary pressures.”
In a particularly telling observation, Oyetola noted: “What looks like an accounting issue has become a national economic concern.”
Adding insult to injury, the Budget Office wrongly placed the 2026 budget of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) under the Federal Ministry of Transportation, despite CRFFN being an agency of the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy. This misalignment, according to the minister, undermined clarity in oversight and policy coherence within the maritime logistics value chain.
The Human Factor: Onyeka’s 10 PM Work Ethic
Comptroller Onyeka didn’t shy away from discussing the personal dimension of his command’s success. He spoke candidly about his “10:00 PM work ethic” and the challenge of succeeding DCG Dera Nnadi, whose legacy, he said, “left very big shoes to fill.”
The importation of bulk cargo, general merchandise, and used vehicles remained the major drivers of revenue. But it was the interventions — demand notices to recover underpayments and the implementation of the One-Stop Shop initiative — that transformed performance.
The One-Stop Shop represents a micro-version of what the National Single Window promises at national scale. If one customs command can achieve such results with targeted reforms, what could the entire maritime sector accomplish with adequate investment?
The Mathematics That Should Alarm Policymakers
Consider these figures:
- Tin Can Island Port surplus (2025): ₦51.8 billion
- Ministry’s total budget proposal (2026): ₦10.5 billion
- Ratio: The surplus from one port is 4.9 times the ministry’s entire budget request
Or viewed another way:
- Tin Can Island revenue (2025): ₦1.56 trillion
- Ministry’s capital release (2025): ₦202.47 million
- Ratio: One port generates 7,704 times what the ministry actually receives for capital projects
These aren’t just numbers — they represent a fundamental misalignment between the sector’s revenue contribution and its operational capacity.
What Needs to Happen
Senator Wasiu Eshilokun, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Marine Transport, assured that the National Assembly would carefully examine the proposals, noting the strategic importance of the marine and blue economy to national development.
But careful examination must translate into action on several fronts:
First, the 1.7% capital budget release rate is unacceptable for a sector handling 90% of Nigeria’s international trade. If the government can’t release approved budgets, it should either increase releases or stop the charade of budget approvals altogether.
Second, the excessive deductions strangling self-funding agencies must be addressed. These agencies generate billions in revenue and remit to the consolidated revenue fund. They shouldn’t be starved of operational funds in the process.
Third, basic administrative competence demands that CRFFN’s budget be correctly placed under the ministry it actually reports to. If the bureaucracy can’t get organizational charts right, how can it implement complex reforms?
Finally, and most critically, policymakers must recognize that adequately funding a sector that generates trillions isn’t charity — it’s investment with proven returns.
The Larger Question
Tin Can Island’s success under Comptroller Onyeka proves that leadership, technology, and process improvements can drive both efficiency and revenue growth. The One-Stop Shop initiative eliminated bureaucratic bottlenecks while increasing collections.
Tomorrow, we’ll examine how the National Single Window — the nationwide scale-up of what Tin Can Island achieved — could transform Nigeria’s maritime economy. But only if it receives the funding and institutional support it desperately needs.
The question isn’t whether Nigeria can afford to invest in its maritime infrastructure. Looking at Tin Can Island’s ₦1.56 trillion, the question is: can Nigeria afford not to?
Bode Animashaun writes on maritime and blue economy issues for waterwaysnew.ng