The President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has stated that there is a shortage of ports in the West and Central African regions.
Dangote stated this on Monday in Lagos while speaking during the Mid-Year Session of the Board of Directors of the Port Management Association of West and Central Africa. The meeting was themed, “Ports of the Future: Combining Logistical Resilience with Inclusive Community Development.”
Senior government officials were present at the event, including the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola; Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority and President of PMAWCA, Dr Abubakar Dantsoho; and Governor of Taraba State, Dr Kefas Agbu, among others.
Speaking to participants and government officials at the session, Dangote called for more investment in ports in the regions, adding that it could take up to three weeks to discharge cargoes at some ports.
“My own is actually to continue to encourage you to encourage people to come and invest in ports because, really, we are running short of ports, especially in West and Central Africa.
In some areas where we go to discharge our goods, especially in Côte d’Ivoire, I think we wait for three weeks.
“And I think you need to encourage entrepreneurs to invest. The government has no business investing in ports. What you need to do is actually to encourage entrepreneurs to invest heavily so that your own revenues will increase. You should be good at collecting revenues, not building ports. So, you should encourage the private sector to build its ports,” the billionaire businessman stated.
Dangote, however, noted that “the good news is that the MD of NPA has actually been encouraging us to build the Lekki Free Trade Zone. But I can assure you that the Lekki Free Trade Zone will be the largest, deepest seaport in Africa. Not in West Africa, in Africa.
“We just concluded discussions two days ago with the President of Tanzania. We also want to build another port. Now, we are taking ports as our own business. Before, we were just doing it as part of our operations, but right now, we will be the biggest African supplier of logistics going forward.”
Declaring the session open, the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, said that Nigeria is expanding its port capacity and implementing major maritime reforms aimed at positioning the country as the leading trade and logistics hub in West and Central Africa.
Oyetola explained that the Federal Government had approved the development of additional deep seaports across the country to strengthen supply chain resilience and improve Nigeria’s competitiveness in the global maritime industry.
“Approvals have therefore been granted for the development of additional deep seaports across the country to complement existing infrastructure, strengthen supply chain resilience, and reinforce Nigeria’s position as the preferred maritime and logistics hub for West and Central Africa,” Oyetola said.
He added that the administration of President Bola Tinubu remained committed to modernising the nation’s ports through infrastructure upgrades, digital transformation, and improved operational efficiency.
According to him, coordinated policy interventions and stronger inter-agency collaboration had significantly reduced logistics bottlenecks at major seaports.
“These efforts have contributed to improved cargo evacuation, reduced vessel waiting time, greater operational efficiency, and a more predictable business environment for port users and investors,” he said.
Oyetola described the Federal Government’s National Single Window initiative as a landmark reform designed to streamline cargo clearance through the digital integration of government agencies and port operations.
He also disclosed that existing seaports would undergo comprehensive upgrades, including channel deepening, to attract larger vessels. “These upgrades are critical to ensuring that our ports remain globally competitive and capable of supporting larger volumes of trade in the years ahead,” the minister stated.
The minister charged delegates to advance initiatives that would “strengthen logistical resilience in port operations and regional supply chains,” while also promoting sustainable port management, innovation, digital transformation, and inclusive community development linked to maritime activities.
In his welcome address, Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority> and President of PMAWCA, Dr Abubakar Dantsoho, said West and Central Africa is witnessing a major “resurgence in maritime infrastructure investment, with more than $27bn worth of port projects underway or recently announced across the sub-region.”
Dantsoho cited major projects, including the $20bn Simandou-Morebaya Deep Seaport project in Guinea, the $2bn Port San Pedro project in Côte d’Ivoire, the $1.5bn Lekki Deep Seaport in Lagos, and port developments in Ghana and Senegal.
He also highlighted ongoing investments in Nigeria’s Apapa and Tin Can Island ports, alongside a $600m investment by APM Terminals. The NPA MD said ports in West and Central Africa must move beyond their traditional role as cargo gateways and become drivers of broader blue economy growth.
“The future of the sector lies in areas such as renewable marine energy, aquaculture, sustainable fisheries, coastal tourism, and marine biotechnology,” Dantsoho said.
The event was also attended by the Governor of Lagos State, represented by the Commissioner for Transportation, Mr Oluwaseun Osiyemi; and the Special Adviser on Policy Coordination to the President, Hadiza Bala Usman, among many others.
