In a move to enhance the ease of doing business at the nation’s seaports, the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council and the Nigerian Ports Authority launched the Ports and Customs Efficiency Committee on Thursday.

Speaking at the inaugural meeting of the PCEC in Lagos, the Vice President of Nigeria, Kashim Shettima, said improving efficiencies at the nation’s seaports would reduce cargo dwell time, vessel turnaround, and customer turnover.

Represented at the event by the Director-General of PEBEC, Zahrah Audu, the VP said that the committee was launched to change the narrative of missed opportunities in the maritime sector, unlock potential opportunities, and enhance Nigeria’s economy.

According to him, by improving efficiencies in the nation’s seaports, “we can drastically reduce the average cargo dwell time and turnover time for customers, eliminate duplication of documentation and manual processes, and ensure customer’ satisfaction.”

Shettima emphasised that the move is about resilience, unlocking potential opportunities, and enhancing Nigeria’s economy.

“It is a call to action for terminal operators to improve infrastructure and for shipping companies to increase efficiency to reduce delays, for freight forwarders to uphold compliance, and for regulators to reduce bureaucratic bottlenecks. It is a call for shared ownership of our shared problem and a commitment to deliver a shared solution,” he stated.

He mentioned that the committee was established to go beyond identifying the problems and to begin implementing the solutions that are long overdue.

“Nigeria loses a lot every single day due to some of our inefficiencies. These are not just numbers, these are missed opportunities. They represent jobs not created, goods not delivered, investments not realised, and economic growth that is unnecessarily delayed. The PCEC has been established to change this narrative, to go beyond identifying the problems we already know and begin implementing the solutions we all agree are long overdue, Shettima stressed.

He maintained that the mandate of PEBEC is to remove bureaucratic bottlenecks that will allow people to do business at Nigerian seaports.

The Vice President stressed that since 2016, PEBEC has driven over 200 reforms across sectors, collaborating with ministries, departments, agencies, and the private sector, and since I came on board, I have taken it one step forward.

“So, beyond passing or helping pass reforms or policies, it’s time for us to focus on implementation and practical output of what these reforms can translate into. This is why this committee is important to us.

“PCEC is not an observer group; it is an action-oriented, high-impact one, charged with driving sustainable improvement in service delivery at the Nigerian ports, working hand-in-hand with agencies like the NPA, the Nigerian Customs Services, and other government agencies and stakeholders within the ports. This is a reform ecosystem that accommodates everyone,” Shettima stated.

Earlier, the Managing Director of NPA, Dr Abubakar Dantsoho, said the agency is currently addressing four major pillars that are critical to repositioning the nation’s seaports and making it compete effectively with regional counterparts.

Dantsoho explained that investment in infrastructure, equipment, technology, and human capacity would improve the competitiveness and operational efficiency of the nation’s seaports.

He noted that port infrastructure, particularly in Apapa and Tincan Island Ports, is aged and in dire need of rehabilitation.

“Tincan was constructed about 48 years ago, Apapa almost 100 years ago, yet no major rehabilitation has taken place all these years,” he said.

He added that recent government approval for the reconstruction of both ports would significantly improve berth depth and cargo handling capacity.

The NPA boss disclosed that the agency is working closely with the International Maritime Organisation to deploy the Port Community System, describing it as the backbone for the National Single Window.

He stressed that PCS would eliminate paperwork and reduce human interface, thereby improving transparency, reducing cost, and boosting efficiency and revenue generation.

Dantsoho added that the NPA is intensifying efforts to upgrade the skills of pilots and technical personnel to meet modern navigational and operational demands.

“NPA cannot do it alone; efficiency must cut across all segments if we are to truly optimize revenue and compete globally,” he said.