Reforms and incentives at Nigeria’s Eastern ports are reshaping the maritime landscape, with rising traffic now contributing significantly to the NPA’s projected N1.28tn revenue for 2025. The renewed push positions the ports as competitive gateways, easing congestion in Lagos and boosting Nigeria’s trade competitiveness, ANOZIE EGOLE writes
For years, shipping into Nigeria meant Lagos ports first, everywhere else second. The Eastern ports in Port Harcourt, Onne, Warri, and Calabar were left in the shadows despite their proximity to key markets and resource corridors. Despite their potential, the weak infrastructure and limited connectivity kept the Eastern ports underused. Lagos absorbed over 90 per cent of maritime traffic, while Eastern facilities ran below a third of their capacity.
But under the current leadership of Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho as the Managing Director of the NPA, Eastern ports are being repositioned as a competitive gateway. For shippers, the benefits are obvious, shorter turnaround times, closer access to the South-East and North-Central industrial clusters, lower transportation costs, and the ability to move agricultural and mineral products more efficiently. A move aimed at deepening Nigeria’s participation in the African Continental Free Trade Area regime.
To demonstrate his hands-on approach, Dantsoho embarked on a series of tours focused on driving investment into the Eastern ports. These tours have started to yield expressions of interest for Port Harcourt, Calabar, and Burutu Ports. One of these is the recently celebrated call of the wholly Nigerian-owned MV Ocean Dragon at Onne’s West African Container Terminal on July 31, 2025.
With a 349 twenty-foot equivalent unit capacity, the MV Ocean Dragon shall be plying routes across West, Central, and Southern Africa, exemplifying the “Nigeria First” policy and pronouncing Nigeria as a key player in intra-African trade. Through these efforts, the NPA is showing its commitment to integrating Nigerian producers with global markets and maximising the immediate benefits of the proximate African trade corridor by water.
Dantsoho’s management introduced new tariffs, which became effective on March 1, 2025, reflecting operational costs while maintaining competitiveness and enhancing the actualisation of the authority’s 25-year master plan, which emphasises automation, cybersecurity, and sustainability, including a proposed ‘Green Craft Acquisition Fund’ for International Maritime Organisation-compliant vessels.
Dantsoho is sustaining conscious steps toward improving ship traffic to the Eastern ports and repositioning them for optimal efficiency.
As part of the NPA’s contribution to boosting the national economy, Dantsoho is working tirelessly to maximise the potential of Onne and Port Harcourt Ports while also reviving the existing ports in Calabar, Warri, and other parts of the South-South without losing focus on greenfield port projects.
Achievements
The NPA has continued to pursue strategic partnerships to drive growth. For instance, Hapag-Lloyd launched a weekly service at Onne, connecting Eastern Nigeria to global routes and enhancing transhipment under the African Continental Free Trade Area.
Mr. Anthony Mayah opined that collaborations between the NPA and relevant agencies of government, like the Nigeria Customs Service, for a 24-hour operation, also aim to reduce cargo release times and curb diversions to neighbouring ports.
“And performance metrics reflect success so far. Records show that service boat gross registered tonnage rose 129.3 per cent to 4.58 million tonnes in 2024. The Eastern Ports have also seen larger vessels berth safely, with stakeholders reporting higher export tonnages. In anticipation of the growth that this progress indicates, the NPA projects N1.28tn in revenue for 2025, up from N894.86bn in 2024. And the development in the Eastern ports contributes significantly to the projected revenue rise,” Mayah said.
Buoyed by the fruits of its effort so far, the NPA is implementing a new incentive regime to encourage patronage of non-Lagos ports, including discounts and streamlined processes for Eastern corridors. And in achieving that, the authority is aligning with the Federal Government’s “Nigeria First”, which emphasises infrastructure modernisation, operational efficiency, and indigenous participation in the maritime sector. Discussions with stakeholders like the Seaport Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria have, therefore, focused on boosting indigenous ownership and short-sea shipping.
NPA is presently at the heart of the Federal Government’s drive to strengthen Nigeria’s economic diversification options through sustainable blue economy ventures such as shipbuilding, ship repair, and other dry dock activities, which are attracting attention.
At a recent forum in Lagos, the founder of Starz Marine and Engineering Limited in Rivers State, Engr. Greg Ogbeifun disclosed the commitment of a $350m loan by Afrexim Bank to facilitate shipbuilding and expansion of the yard.
This, he stated, will aid the expansion of the Starz’s shipyard from 500 tonnes to 10,000 tonnes lifting capacity, 120 a long circle lift, for the purpose of achieving quality ship repair and building, which Nigerians have had cause to travel for.
Earlier, The PUNCH reported that the Onitsha Port in Anambra State was abuzz with excitement early this month as the first barge for the 2025 season, MV ZUPITOR/MV RB ALASKA, berthed at the facility.
The General Manager of Universal Elysium Limited, the concessionaire of the port, Mr. Chris Mbonu, expressed his enthusiasm, describing the berthing of the barge as a positive milestone and a reminder of the pressing infrastructural gap.
Challenges
Although there is a celebration for the berthing of a barge at the Onitsha Port in Anambra State, stakeholders called for its proper dredging to ensure more activities.
Mbonu explained that operations at the port were ongoing but largely seasonal, with activity peaking only during the rainy season when the River Niger’s water level rises sufficiently to allow vessel movement.
He attributed the seasonal operation to the inconsistency of dredging and channel management of the River Niger, rather than a lack of infrastructure or demand.
“The port is functional and ready to work 365 days a year. But without consistent dredging of the River Niger, we are forced to operate only when the waterway allows us, essentially turning a national asset into a seasonal stopgap,” Mbonu said.
He likened a port without a navigable waterway to a car without fuel, adding that the current situation limits the port’s capacity to serve as a true inland logistics hub for Nigeria’s growing domestic and international trade. Mbonu appealed to the Federal Government, the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, the Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority, and private stakeholders to make regular dredging and maintenance of the River Niger a national economic priority.
Regular dredging of the River Niger, according to Mbonu, would unlock year-round navigability, enabling barges, ferries, and larger vessels to move seamlessly between the southern seaports and the inland commercial centres. This would lower transportation and logistics costs, ease congestion on critical highways, reduce delivery timeframes and business inefficiencies, and increase investor confidence in inland logistics.
The Head of Research at Sea Empowerment and Research Centre, Mr. Eugene Nweke, in a bulletin sent to The PUNCH on Sunday, stated that despite the progress recorded, the Eastern ports face policy and technical challenges.
“Some of the challenges include insecurity that is discouraging vessel owners, shallow depths that are limiting big vessel movement, poor access roads that are hindering cargo movement, deplorable berths caused by poor condition, and lack of equipment. Again, with the right political will, these supposedly myriad challenges are surmountable. Eastern traders claim that more than 30 per cent of total imports through Western ports are re-transported to the Eastern region, resulting in higher costs. We urge the South-East Development Commission to focus on ports and inland waterways development,” Nweke said.
The Head of Department Shipping and Terminal Logistics at the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders, Mr. Nnadi Ugochukwu, pointed out that the major challenge with the ports in the eastern axis has to do with the shallow draft and low vessel traffic.
“The challenge is mostly shallow draft and low vessel traffic. Only a few vessels are destined for the Eastern ports, which is more of a political than an economic policy,” Nnadi said.
Stakeholders speak
Meanwhile, maritime stakeholders have called for proper attention to Eastern ports to drive development in the axis.
The Sea Empowerment and Research Centre has stated that the Oguta River Port project in Imo State has the potential to handle over 35 per cent of marine business in Nigeria and create over two million jobs.
SEREC, in a recent statement by its Head of Research, Eugene Nweke, urged the Nigerian Ports Authority to leverage its expertise and resources to drive the development of the project.
According to the group, the call to action was prompted by the policy thrusts of the NPA’s Managing Director, Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho, which emphasise adding administrative impetus towards the evolution of the modern ports regime centred on trade facilitation, effectiveness, and efficiency.
SEREC opined that the development of the Oguta River Port project is a crucial step towards achieving this vision.
“The Oguta River Port project, currently 61 per cent completed but abandoned, has the potential to transform the region’s economy and promote trade facilitation. With its strategic location and vast potential, the Oguta River Port project has the potential to handle over 35 per cent of marine business in Nigeria, create over two million jobs, and stimulate economic growth in the region,” the group stated.
Nweke stressed the need to revamp Eastern ports and promote economic growth.
“Invest in infrastructure by upgrading ports, roads, and rail linkages. Enhance security through the improvement of waterways and surrounding area security, promote investment to attract investments and public-private partnerships, and streamline operations by reducing agencies operating at ports,” he said.
A licensed agent who gave his name as Ignatius Oguh, maintained that the Dantsoho-led administration at the Nigerian Ports Authority has, however, made breaking the cycle a priority.
“Reforms that include infrastructural and equipment upgrades, financial incentives, and stakeholder engagement have been put forward. The NPA has now secured $1.1bn for comprehensive rehabilitation across Eastern Ports, including Onne, Rivers, Calabar, and Warri. Key projects include road network integration at Onne’s Berths 9-11, installation of marine fenders authority-wide, and surveys for shore protection at Escravos breakwaters in Warri,” he said.
Johnpaul Aribi disclosed that navigational aids and buoys have been deployed in the Warri and Calabar Pilotage Districts to improve channel marking and safety.
Aribi believed that the enhancements have led to unprecedented cargo traffic, particularly at Onne, attributed to improved channel security and reduced attacks on vessels.
“Dredging efforts are also ongoing to increase draught depths, such as targeting 11 metres at Onne and Calabar to handle bigger ships with a mind on avoiding past situations like the stalled $12.5m contract and legal conundrum,” Aribi said.
Although Onne has welcomed ships that once avoided the corridor. Security patrols across the Niger Delta are supported by partner agencies, thereby reducing piracy and other threats at sea while reassuring international shipping lines of the security of their vessels. On the commercial side, tariff rebates on harbour dues have lowered the cost for users of the Eastern ports, while terminal concessions are driving private investment in modern cargo-handling equipment.
Hopefully, through the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri rail, the North-East would have a direct maritime outlet, where agricultural produce and solid minerals can be exported, a true definition of an efficient port system.
Conclusion
Nweke urged the South-Eastern governors to take a strong look at the regional transport necessity and unite towards pursuing a holistic port revamp in the region.
“This will help save the international trading public the agony of logistics encumbrances and investment loss on the highway due to poor roads and insecurity issues,” he said.
The NPA’s multifaceted approach, combining infrastructure upgrades, equipment acquisitions, incentives, and partnerships to improve delivery positions, positions the Eastern ports as vital economic engines.
