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Despite the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) raking in N1.3 trillion in the first quarter of 2025, Nigeria continues to lose an estimated $4 billion annually to port congestion and inefficiencies—an irony that maritime experts say must be addressed if the country’s new global customs power is to translate into real economic gains.
This was the sharp warning delivered in Lagos at a one-day seminar of the League of Maritime Editors (LOME), where speakers insisted that Nigeria’s assumption of the World Customs Organization (WCO) Council chairmanship on July 1, 2025, is no trophy for celebration but a lever for reform.
Head of Research at Sea Empowerment and Research Center (SEREC), Dr. Eugene I. Nweke, who was represented by Francis Aniezechukwu, declared that the WCO post places Nigeria under an unforgiving global spotlight.
“This position is not for decoration. It is power to influence customs standards and champion Africa’s trade future. Leadership without domestic discipline is hollow,” he said.
Nweke outlined six ongoing reforms under Comptroller-General of Customs Bashir Adewale Adeniyi; Time Release Studies, data-driven inspections, advance ruling, the Authorized Economic Operator programme, B’Odogwu single-window migration, and rapid cargo scanners – as crucial springboards to leverage Nigeria’s WCO status.
He, however, warned that infrastructure decay, policy flip-flops and entrenched bureaucracy threaten to erode the gains.
Turning his fire on the media, Nweke urged maritime journalists to “educate, interrogate and shape narratives” rather than indulge in “undue praises that make us a collective ridicule.”
Backing the call for deeper reforms, Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), Dr. Akutah Pius Ukeyima, represented by Mrs. Magaret Ogbonna, pressed for urgent passage of the Nigerian Port Economic Regulatory Agency Bill to give NSC clear statutory powers to curb monopolies and enforce competition.
“The world is watching Nigeria, and credibility abroad will only be matched by credibility at home,” he said.
From an insider perspective, Capt. Iheanacho Ebubeogu, former NPA Public Affairs General Manager, reminded the gathering that Customs remains the frontline enforcer of border laws.
He described the WCO Council as “a salad of interests, including; country interests, regional interests, diplomacy and politics,” urging stakeholders to rally behind Adeniyi to safeguard Nigeria’s and Africa’s stake.
LOME President, Mrs. Remi Itie, in her welcome remarks, described Adeniyi’s election as “a historic moment” for Nigeria but cautioned that stakeholders must interrogate how this global elevation can tangibly boost trade, jobs, and the country’s global image.
The consensus in Apapa was clear as prestige alone will not cut cargo dwell times of 20–25 days among the worst in West Africa, nor end corruption and inefficiency that drain billions.
Meanwhile, LOME also rewarded the sterling performances of some maritime leaders, including; the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho, Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), Dr. Pius Akutah.
