Nigeria’s port sector has entered a new regulatory era following the formal transition of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council into the Nigeria Ports Economic Regulatory Agency (NPERA).
The transition follows President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s assent to the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency Act 2026 last week, establishing NPERA as the statutory authority for the economic regulation of Nigeria’s ports.
Speaking at a press briefing in Lagos, Chairman of the NPERA Governing Board, Ibrahim Shema, described the development as a major institutional reform aimed at creating a more transparent, predictable and competitive port environment.
NPERA will regulate port services and related activities, including tariffs and charges, licensing, service standards, fair competition, commercial dispute resolution, trade facilitation and the protection of port users.
Shema said the new framework would provide greater regulatory certainty for shipping lines and terminal operators, while giving importers, exporters, freight forwarders and clearing agents more predictable procedures, fairer charges and stronger mechanisms for resolving disputes.
He assured that NPERA would not compete with the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).
Shema said the agency’s regulatory approach would be built around transparency, fairness, predictability, efficiency and accountability.
It will also deploy technology and data to strengthen licensing, tariff administration, monitoring, compliance, reporting and stakeholder engagement.
NPERA is expected to work closely with key maritime institutions, including the NPA, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency and the Nigeria Customs Service, as well as terminal operators, shipping lines, freight forwarders, manufacturers, investors and other stakeholders.
Shema said the immediate priority was an orderly transition from the Nigerian Shippers’ Council to NPERA while maintaining essential regulatory functions and preserving institutional knowledge.
The Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the agency, Pius Akutah, said the new law should significantly clarify Nigeria’s port regulatory environment within the next one to two years.
Akutah said the Act gives NPERA stronger powers to improve commercial dispute resolution and protect the interests and welfare of port users and other stakeholders.
He expressed confidence that the new regulatory framework would help deliver a more efficient, transparent and competitive port system.
The transition marks the culmination of twenty years of efforts to establish a permanent statutory economic regulator for Nigeria’s ports.