Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho, has since assumption of duty, provided transformational and result-driven leadership geared towards achieving his vision of revamping Nigeria’s seaports infrastructure to make them efficient and globally competitive. He has therefore been intentional towards achieving this. This is especially given his various reforms and initiatives toward achieving these goals, which have boosted Nigeria’s economic prosperity. FRANCIS EZEM, who monitored the trends reports.

To say that Nigeria’s seaports have undergone a major overhaul and transformation in terms of infrastructure upgrade ever known in their history is to state the obvious. This is given the resolve and pledge by the current Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority NPA, Dr Abubakar Dantsoho to completely overhaul and revamp Nigeria’s seaports on assumption of duty. Notably, Dr. Dantsoho, whose appointment has been variously described as one of the best made by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu grew through the ranks in NPA, which obviously accounts for his vast knowledge and experience in port management. 

Little wonder therefore that as a thorough-bred port expert, who understands what port efficiency is and what makes a seaport efficient, Dantsoho understands quite clearly that there is a nexus between modern port operational infrastructure, port efficiency, competitiveness and revenue generation. He has therefore been intentional in driving Nigeria’s seaports infrastructure overhaul and modernisation and has left no stone unturned in revamping many of the erstwhile dilapidated infrastructure and superstructure of the nation’s seaports, especially at the Tin Can Island Ports Complex, and other port locations across the country to drive speed, efficiency and ultimately revenue generation.

For instance, as part of measures to address the several years of gross underutilisation of the Delta Ports Complex, comprising Warri and Koko Ports, the Abubakar Dantsoho-led management of the NPA undertook the ambitious project of dredging of the crucial Escravos Channel, which restored the navigational depth necessary for commercial confidence.

The dredged Escravous Channel

To complement this, the NPA under Dantsoho also commissioned the Escravos and Ramos Signal Stations, which introduced a modern vessel traffic management system that provides world-class oversight and safety for the increased maritime traffic navigating the Delta’s complex waterways.

To directly address the concerns of ship owners and their insurers, the NPA acquired the marine security vessel SPB Likoro. This deployment has added a visible, reassuring layer of protection, which is a critical factor in mitigating risk perceptions and attracting international shipping lines.

Underpinning these physical transformations is the successful implementation of the Landlord Port Model at the Complex. These infrastructural defects have existed several decades after the port concession but it took the management of the NPA under Abubakar Dantsoho, which understands the various port management models to maintain its role as a regulator and infrastructure leader, while concessionaires like Associated Maritime Services and Integrated Logistics Services, the two concessionaires at the port to drive terminal operations with private-sector efficiency and innovation. This understanding and synergy has been grossly lacking over the years, which made the ports terribly underutilised.

Unarguably, the decision of Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho and his management team to embark on a massive overhaul of port infrastructure of the Delta Ports like the others across the country’s seaport locations is beginning to yield good results, as the cargo volumes at the Warri and Koko Ports Complexes have recorded an upsurge, according to recent reports.

Details of operational statistics from the Delta Ports, which houses both complexes show that the port currently handles an average of 45 ships on a monthly basis, which has been unprecedented, a development experts believe is a reinforcement of shippers and shipping lines’ confidence in the ports, as good alternatives.

Other operational details also indicate a drastic reduction in the waiting time of vessels that call at the Delta Ports from the former time of 2.89 days to 1.99 days, which underscores the level of efficiency achieved in a very short time, thus boosting the confidence of the shippers (importers and exporters) and shipping lines alike.

 The statistics also indicate that the port handled a total of 293,013 metric tonnes of cargo, which in concrete terms accounts for over 10.7 per cent of Nigeria’s total trade volume, which experts have described as quite significant and very encouraging, given where the ports are coming from.

“These figures are not mere dry abstractions. They are the heartbeat of a maritime ecosystem rediscovering its rhythm after years of gross underutilisation.

“This operational resurgence is the direct result of a concerted, multi-pronged investment strategy led by the NPA’s current executive management under Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho. The cornerstone of these efforts was the dredging of the crucial Escravos Channel, which restored the navigational depth necessary for commercial confidence”, the NPA had said in a recent report.

This model has also been essential in rebuilding institutional confidence. Through transparency, data-driven decision making, and adherence to international best practices, the NPA has repositioned itself as both a maritime authority and a development catalyst.

This new dataset, no doubt provides a compelling evidence that the strategic investments in the Warri and Koko Ports Complex are paying dramatic dividends, with surging ship traffic, improved efficiency, and growing cargo volumes signalling a fundamental shift in the nation’s maritime trade flows.

The result is also a marked change in investor-sentiment. The NPA reports that investors now see the Delta Ports “not as a high-risk endeavour but as a guaranteed growth corridor,” a perceptual shift that is crucial for attracting the continued investment needed for long-term development.

The NPA emphasises that the ultimate goal is to build resilience into the very fabric of Nigeria’s port system. “With every dredged metre, every illuminated quay, and every trained pilot, the nation is fortifying its logistics architecture against future disruptions,” the authority stated.

In this new paradigm, Warri and Koko are being repositioned. They are no longer fall back options, they are front-runners in a diversified maritime network, a strategic shift that enhances national economic security by providing viable alternatives to the Lagos hub.

The future roadmap promises even greater efficiency. The reconstruction of breakwaters will reduce siltation, while the creation of a Channel Management Company will ensure the navigability of the channels is permanently maintained, preventing a return to the previous state of disrepair.

The data now clearly shows that the Atlantic Gambit is yielding results. The rising statistics for ship calls, cargo tonnage, and operational speed at Warri and Koko ports are not just numbers on a page; they are the quantifiable proof of a national strategy successfully in motion, decentralising opportunity and building a more resilient maritime nation.

Experts further believe that the resurgence of the Delta Ports coupled with the NPA’s efforts to also revamp the eastern ports corridor would give shippers and shipping lines even more alternatives and permanently address the congestion on the Lagos Ports corridor.

The Dantosoho-led management of the NPA has made deliberate efforts at revamping the country’s seaport infrastructure on the Eastern corridor, which is beginning to yield results. Only recently, the Onne Multipurpose Terminal OMT, recorded another milestone with the maiden call of the mega MSC Dorine V, the first direct vessel from China/Far East via MSC Iroko Service.

This Liberian-flagged ship carrying 5,089 TEUs, with Length Overall LOA, of 294m berthed on November 9, 2025, marked a major boost for Nigeria’s eastern maritime corridor and direct trade routes.

“This game-changing direct calls slash transit delays, cut freight costs, ensure predictable arrivals. The benefits are faster supply chains, lower charges, no transshipment hassles, thereby unlocking jobs, growth and non-oil trade for South-South/East regions of Nigeria”, according to the Managing Director of Onne Multipurpose Terminal, Nicolo Scannavini.

This is no doubt coming on heels of the resolve of the Abubakar Dantsoho-led management to avail enablers in the form of infrastructure and equipment geared towards solidifying the Onne Port hub status.

Operated by ICTSI, OMT excels in gearless mega-vessels, modern cranes, expanded yards and technical upgrades. It eases Lagos congestion, accelerates cargo flow and draws global carriers to Nigeria’s strategic eastern gateway.

In addition to these infrastructure revamp programmes, this management has also meticulously and religiously implemented a robust automation/digitisation programme as part of efforts toward ensuring connectivity of other port operators and stakeholders through the Port Community System PCS, which is a crucial towards achieving the country’s National Single Window NSW platform.

The Dantsoho management has also with a clear sense of purpose and direction, strengthened the Authority’s Export Processing Terminals (EPTs). This is in tandem with the policy objective of boosting the country’s domestic economy by promoting a healthy balance of trade among Nigeria’s trading partners. This has in no small measure, helped to simplify the hitherto cumbersome and burdensome process of exporting agro and allied products.

The EPTs were primarily established to serve as a one-stop-shop for export cargo consolidation, stuffing, documentation, packaging, certification and onward shipment through electronic call-up system to the seaports in quick turnaround time, thus eliminating the duplications and bureaucratic overlaps that previously rendered Nigeria’s exports uncompetitive in the international marketplace.

It was further gathered that the management is even extending this non-oil export drive further, as it is concluding plans to link value creators in the remotest parts of the hinterland with the farthest clusters of demand anywhere on the globe.

To achieve this goal, the Authority under Abubakar Dantsoho is sparing no efforts in eliminating all human interfaces, which encourage underhand dealings by implementing a full automation of NPA’s processes and procedures through the Ports Community System.

Addressing a group of exporters and investors recently, Dantsoho said: “To facilitate seaport-hinterland connectivity and create pathways for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) to play in the export value chain, the EPTs are being linked with Domestic Export Warehouses (DEWs) in synergy with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council NEPC and relevant partners.

Also, to align with the ease of doing business orientation of the Federal Government and the need to develop Nigeria’s industrial sector and the SMEs to achieve economic advancement and global recognition, we are aggressively simplifying our export processes to enable made-in-Nigeria goods transit through our seaports as seamlessly as possible.”

In order to further boost stakeholders’ access to these export services and other growth offerings, the management has put in place a staunch business development team, this is in addition to its fully interactive online real time website www.nigerianports.gov.ng.

Evidently, the country’s export volumes kept soaring in leaps and bounds. For instance, the Mediterranean Shipping Company MSC Nigeria, which accounts for the freighting of substantial percentage of Nigeria’s non-oil exports, said it shipped over 40, 000 twenty equivalent units TEUs of the country’s non-oil exports, especially agro and allied products between January-December 2024. This represents over 40 per cent of figures recorded in the previous year.

Commenting on the increasing export volumes, the Deputy Managing Director of MSC Jacob Iosso said: “Many of the reforms to boost the country’s non-oil exports are beginning to yield results as indicated in rising export figures.

“We’re the no. 1 shipping line in Nigeria in terms of shipment of export cargo, and so I can tell you that there has been a significant increase in Nigeria’s non-oil export volumes, especially in the last 12 months.”

He commended the Federal Government and the NPA for all the reforms and new initiatives introduced over time to boost the nation’s non-oil exports.

Also, available statistics from the Nigeria Export Promotion Council NEPC, for the 2025 trading year also show that Nigeria’s non-oil export sector continued its growth trajectory in the first quarter of 2025, recording a 24.75 per cent increase compared to the figures recorded in the same period in 2024, as non-oil products valued at US$1.791 billion were exported between January and March 2025, up from US$1.436 billion in the first quarter of 2024.

The Council further noted that the export volumes also increased to 2.416 million metric tonnes, which is an increase of 243.44per cent from 1.937 million metric tonnes recorded in the first quarter of 2024.

It was in the light of this sterling performance even within a short period that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on December 7, 2025 decorated Dr. Dantsoho with the prestigious Award of ‘Excellence in Maritime Infrastructure Modernisation and Global Port Competitiveness’.

The colourful event was the flagship Nigeria Excellence Awards in Public Service NEAPS, which held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The prestigious NEAPS Award, which is a presidential initiative coordinated by the Office of Secretary to the Government of the Federation SGF, publicly recognises and decorates public servants, who have demonstrated excellence in the discharge of their duties.

Abubakar Dantsoho was recognised amongst other sterling performance scorecard for deepening of efficiencies that catalysed the attainment of national trade surplus through unprecedented growth in exports.

The reforms in the port industry introduced by the Abubakar Dantsoho-led management of the NPA, also set the pace for the National Single Window NSW through the Port Community System PCS being at the forefront of galvanising the global investors’ interest in the modernisation of Nigeria’s seaports’ infrastructure and equipment.

The Presidential Award was also in recognition of the growing influence of Nigeria in the comity of maritime nations evidenced by Nigeria’s election to the presidency of the Port Management Association of West and Central Africa PMAWCA. Recall also that Nigeria through the NPA was recently elected Vice President of the International Association for Ports and Harbours IAPH. Similarly, with the supportive role and the guidance of the Hon.  Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola Nigeria was re-elected into the Influential “Category C” of the Council of the International Maritime Organisation IMO after over 14 years of failed attempts, among several other global recognitions.

Dr. Dantsoho, who reacted to the Presidential Award, noted that he was actually humbled by the Presidential recognition, which he said serves as a springboard for him to do even more.

“The NPA management under my watch is more than committed in our resolve to completely transform our port systems and infrastructure to make them efficient and globally competitive”, the Managing Director, Dantsoho assured.

Addressing stakeholders recently at a Maritime and Logistics event hosted in Lagos by the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce NBCC, Dantsoho noted that the Management of the NPA under his watch is determined to ensuring that the Nigeria’s seaports take advantage of the intra African trade that is expected to increase with the coming into operation of the African Continental Free Trade Area AfCFTA.

He hinted that the NPA was taking steps to reposition the nation’s seaports to improve their competitive strategy to stay ahead of their neighbouring rival seaports.

Speaking on the theme of the event: “Improving the competitiveness of the Nigeria’s seaports in an era of regional integration”, he observed that it is envisaged that intra- African trade will significantly increase with the collapse of trade barriers across Africa.

He said: “It is therefore imperative that the Nigeria’s seaports are repositioned to be competitive in order not to lose its gateway traffic to the other seaports. “Our vision is to be the Maritime Logistics Hub for sustainable port services in Africa.

“In the quest for our nation to optimise the benefits accruable from AfCFTA, there is no gainsaying that seaports play a pivotal role as a nodal point in international logistics. Given the fact that port cost is a significant component of freight cost, which ultimately affects the prices of goods in the market, this speaks to the imperativeness for our ports to be competitive and efficient. “This requires strategic collaboration of every player in the port system for this to be actualised.”

This is no doubt, a clarion call on every stakeholder within the supply chain to join hands with the Abubakar Dantsoho-led Management of the NPA in transforming Nigeria’s seaports to becoming not only Africa’s maritime hub but also globally competitive. The time is now.