NPA Hosts Stakeholders As Nigeria Moves To Reduce Cargo Dwell Time To 7 Days
The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has partnered with the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) and the Ports and Customs Efficiency Committee (PCEC) to actualise a seven-day cargo dwell time at Nigeria’s seaports.
The collaboration, under the Business Environment Enhancement Programme Accelerator (BEEPA), culminated in a three-day high-level stakeholder engagement held in Lagos, themed “Achieving a 7-Day Cargo Dwell Time.” The engagement focused on streamlining port processes to strengthen ease of doing business and improve operational efficiency across the ports.
The event, hosted by the NPA, took place at the Lagos Port Complex (LPC), Apapa.
In a statement issued by the NPA spokesperson, Ikechukwu Onyemekara, the engagement followed an extensive “shadowing” exercise during which officials monitored real-time vessel berthing and cargo clearance operations at both the Tin Can Island Port and the Lagos Port Complex.
Speaking at the event, the Director-General of PEBEC, Zahrah Mustapha, said the session was designed to move beyond identifying challenges to implementing long-overdue, practical solutions within the port system.
According to her, Nigeria loses enormous value daily due to operational inefficiencies at the ports.
“These are not just numbers; they represent missed opportunities, jobs not created, and delayed economic growth. This reform is about resilience and unlocking the nation’s economic potential,” Mustapha stated.
She noted that the initiative brings together government regulators and private sector stakeholders to promote transparency and accountability, with the ultimate objective of reducing cargo dwell time and improving vessel turnaround time.
Earlier, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the NPA, Abubakar Dantsoho, reaffirmed the Authority’s commitment to supporting PEBEC’s reform agenda.
Dantsoho disclosed that the NPA is working with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to deploy a Port Community System (PCS), which will serve as the digital backbone for the National Single Window. He explained that the initiative is expected to eliminate manual bottlenecks and ensure seamless synchronisation of port operations.
He recalled that the NPA recorded a 100 per cent success rate in PEBEC reforms, ranking fifth among government agencies in 2025 with an 84.2 per cent compliance score.
The Authority stated that the outcomes of the stakeholder engagement are expected to be implemented in the coming months, adding that closing the operational gaps identified during port inspections would help create a more competitive maritime environment, attract investment, and facilitate seamless trade.
