The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), in partnership with the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), has concluded a three-day stakeholder engagement in Lagos aimed at reducing cargo dwell time and improving efficiency at Nigeria’s seaports.
The engagement, tagged “Achieving a 7-Day Cargo Dwell Time,” brought together members of the Ports and Customs Efficiency Committee under the Business Environment Enhancement Programme Accelerator framework.
According to a statement issued by the NPA on Sunday, the session focused on streamlining port processes to enhance the ease of doing business and eliminate long-standing operational bottlenecks.
The meeting, held at the Lagos Port Complex, Apapa, followed a “shadowing” exercise in which officials monitored real-time vessel berthing and cargo clearance operations at the Tin Can Island and Lagos Port complexes.
Speaking during the engagement, the Director-General of PEBEC, Zahrah Mustapha, said the initiative was designed to go beyond identifying challenges by implementing practical solutions that have lingered for years.
She noted that inefficiencies at the ports result in significant daily economic losses, stressing that such losses translate into missed business opportunities, uncreated jobs and delayed economic growth.
“These reforms are about resilience and unlocking Nigeria’s economic potential,” Mustapha said, adding that the initiative integrates regulators and private sector players to promote transparency, accountability and faster cargo processing.
Earlier, the Managing Director of the NPA, Abubakar Dantsoho, reaffirmed the authority’s commitment to supporting PEBEC’s reform agenda.
He disclosed that the NPA is working with the International Maritime Organisation to deploy the Port Community System, which is expected to serve as the digital backbone of the National Single Window.
According to Dantsoho, the system will help eliminate manual processes, reduce delays and synchronise port operations across agencies.
He further revealed that the NPA recently recorded a 100 per cent success rate in PEBEC reforms, ranking fifth among government agencies in 2025 with an 84.2 per cent compliance rating.
The outcomes of the stakeholder engagement are expected to be implemented in the coming months as both PEBEC and the NPA work to close identified operational gaps, boost efficiency and create a more competitive maritime environment that supports trade and investment.
