FIC Report (Lagos State) – The Nigeria Ports Economic Regulatory Agency (NPERA) has formally commenced operations as Nigeria’s new statutory authority for the economic regulation of the nation’s ports, marking a major shift in the country’s port governance architecture and signalling a fresh push to make the maritime sector more competitive, transparent and investment-friendly.
The new agency is expected to take the lead in regulating port tariffs and charges, promoting fair competition, improving service standards, facilitating faster cargo clearance and movement, resolving commercial disputes and protecting the interests of port users.
Its emergence follows President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s assent to the Nigeria Ports Economic Regulatory Agency Bill, 2026, which gives economic regulation of Nigeria’s ports a permanent statutory foundation.
Chairman of the NPERA Governing Board, Dr. Ibrahim Shema, described the development as a “fundamental reform”of Nigeria’s port governance, noting that it represents the culmination of almost five decades of institutional evolution in the regulation of port economics.
Shema traced the roots of the reform to the establishment of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council in 1978 and the subsequent concessioning of port terminals in 2006.
According to him, the Nigerian Shippers’ Council was designated the interim Port Economic Regulator in 2014, after which it assumed critical responsibilities including tariff regulation, dispute resolution and protection of port users.
With the enactment of the NPERA Act, he said, those responsibilities had now been given a permanent statutory home.
Under the new framework, NPERA is empowered to regulate port tariffs and charges, licensing, service standards, competition, commercial dispute resolution, trade facilitation and the protection of port users.
Shema, however, stressed that the creation of the agency should not be interpreted as an attempt to create rivalry among government institutions.
“This is not about creating competing authorities. It is about establishing a coherent system in which institutions work together, each within its statutory responsibilities,” he said.
He explained that the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) would retain its statutory responsibility for port infrastructure and its landlord functions, while NPERA would focus principally on the economic and commercial dimensions of port operations.
The objective, he said, was to reduce regulatory uncertainty, remove unnecessary barriers to trade, facilitate faster cargo movement and strengthen Nigeria’s position as a competitive destination for trade and investment.
Shema identified transparency, fairness, predictability, efficiency and accountability as the five core principles that would guide NPERA’s regulatory framework.
On tariffs and port charges, he said the agency would seek to give port users greater clarity about the basis for regulated charges, while service providers would have clearer expectations regarding compliance and regulatory obligations.
The agency would also establish more accessible mechanisms for resolving commercial disputes and deploy digital platforms for licensing, tariff administration, regulatory monitoring, compliance and engagement with stakeholders.
Orderly transition
Shema assured stakeholders that the transition from the Nigerian Shippers’ Council’s interim regulatory role to the new agency would be orderly and carefully managed to minimise disruption to port operations.
He said the transition would cover personnel, assets, liabilities, existing contracts, pending disputes, regulatory records and licensing arrangements.
The NPERA chairman also underscored the importance of collaboration among the major institutions and players in the maritime sector, including the NPA, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), terminal operators, shipping lines, freight forwarders, importers and exporters.
He described the inauguration of NPERA as a major milestone but cautioned that the establishment of the agency was only the beginning of a much more demanding phase.
“The establishment of NPERA is a historic achievement, but the harder work begins now,” Shema said.
He explained that the real measure of the agency’s success would not be the mere existence of the new law or the institution, but its ability to translate the legislation into measurable improvements in port services, operational efficiency, regulatory certainty and Nigeria’s overall competitiveness.
“The new era of port economic regulation has begun. The journey has been long. The opportunity before us is enormous. And the work starts now,” he added.
Akutah: New regime will clarify port regulation
Also speaking, the Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of NPERA, Dr. Pius Akutah, expressed confidence that the new legislation and the agency’s commencement of operations would bring significant clarity to Nigeria’s port regulatory environment within the next one to two years.
Akutah said the agency would place particular emphasis on ensuring fair pricing, encouraging healthy competition, facilitating trade and strengthening government revenue.
He further noted that the NPERA Act had equipped the agency with stronger statutory powers to improve commercial dispute resolution and safeguard the interests and welfare of port users and other stakeholders.
The emergence of NPERA therefore represents more than the creation of another government agency. It marks a structural separation of economic regulation from the infrastructure and landlord responsibilities of the NPA, potentially creating clearer institutional boundaries within Nigeria’s port system.
For shipping companies, terminal operators, importers, exporters, freight forwarders and other port users, the new regime is expected to provide greater certainty around tariffs, charges, licensing requirements and service standards, while offering a more structured mechanism for resolving commercial disputes.
The real test begins at the ports
Beyond the institutional restructuring, however, the effectiveness of NPERA will ultimately be judged by what happens on the ground inside Nigeria’s ports.
The critical questions will be whether cargo moves faster, whether charges become more transparent and predictable, whether commercial disputes are resolved without unnecessary delays, whether regulatory processes become easier to navigate and whether investors develop greater confidence in Nigeria’s maritime economy.
The agency consequently faces a formidable task.
Its credibility will depend not simply on the breadth of powers granted under the new Act, but on how independently and consistently those powers are exercised, how fairly regulations are enforced and how quickly port users begin to experience tangible improvements.
For an industry that has for years faced complaints over multiple charges, regulatory uncertainty, operational delays and inefficiencies, the arrival of NPERA presents a significant opportunity to reset the regulatory environment.
But the significance of the reform will ultimately be determined by implementation.
The challenge before NPERA is now to transform statutory authority into practical results—and ensure that a new chapter in Nigeria’s port regulation is reflected not merely in legislation and institutional structures, but in faster cargo clearance, transparent charges, efficient services, stronger competition and a more predictable business environment at the nation’s ports.
Dimaka Chioma
Deputy Director
Information/Public Relations.
21 / 08 / 2026
