The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has dismissed fears of a clash with the newly established Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency (NPERA), assuring stakeholders that the two bodies will operate within clearly defined mandates.
The NPA’s General Manager, Corporate Communications and Strategy, Ikechukwu Onyemekara, gave the assurance in Lagos during an interaction with the Shipping Correspondents Association of Nigeria (SCAN).
Onyemekara said the NPA and other agencies under the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy were involved in reviewing the legislation establishing NPERA before it was sent for presidential assent, helping to eliminate potential overlaps.
He said the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr. Adegboyega Oyetola, had consistently directed agencies under the ministry to work together and ensure their mandates complemented one another.
“There’s no cause for alarm. It’s a good thing. We don’t have any problem with it,” Onyemekara said, stressing that the regulatory reforms were designed to make Nigeria’s ports more efficient and competitive, not create institutional conflict.