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The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr Adegboyega Oyetola, has unveiled the gazetted Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency (NPERA) Act, 2026, and the agency’s official logo, calling them a milestone for port regulation, investor confidence and Nigeria’s maritime competitiveness.
Oyetola, while speaking on Friday at the Third Quarter 2026 Citizens’ and Stakeholders’ Engagement of the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, praised the tenacity of the Director General of NPERA, Dr Pius Akutah, for pushing relentlessly to ensure the bill’s passage.
At the event themed “Building Strategic Bilateral Partnerships for Sustainable Growth, Investment, and Technology of Nigeria’s Marine and Blue Economy,” the Minister said the Act, which President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed in June 2026, gives port economic regulation a firm statutory footing after nearly two decades of effort.
He noted that President Tinubu directed the immediate constitution of a ministerial committee to oversee the transition of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, the interim regulator since 2014, into the new agency.
NPERA, according to the Minister, will regulate tariffs and charges, promote competition, enforce service standards, resolve commercial disputes and protect port users.
“The credibility of an economic regulator rests, in no small measure, on its independence, impartiality and freedom from responsibilities that could give rise to actual or perceived conflicts of interest,” Oyetola said.
He encouraged the agency to act as an impartial arbiter, free of competing regulatory and operational roles.
On infrastructure, he announced plans to modernise the Apapa, Tin Can Island, Onne, Rivers, Delta and Calabar ports.
“No part of our national port system will be left behind in this modernisation programme,” he declared.
He added that the Federal Government has approved the development of the Ibom, Bakassi, Agge, Gateway, Ondo and Bonny Deep Seaports to expand capacity and position Nigeria as a regional logistics hub.
Noting that Nigeria has recorded zero piracy incidents in its territorial waters through the Deep Blue Project and other activities of the Nigerian Navy, he described the August 2026 lifting of the 12-year United States Coast Guard Condition of Entry on vessels from Nigeria as a major achievement, reflecting compliance with the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code.
He also directed the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency to work with approved Primary Lending Institutions to speed up the processing and disbursement of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund to qualified applicants.
Citing Nigeria’s November 2025 election to Category C of the International Maritime Organization Council, and ongoing engagements with Denmark, India, Norway and the United Kingdom, he said: “Our approach to international cooperation is purposeful and results-oriented.” Partnerships, he stressed, must build local capacity and deliver measurable outcomes.
Denmark’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Jens Ole Bach Hansen, presented on his country’s experience in building a sustainable blue economy, with lessons for partnership, investment and technology transfer with Nigeria.
