The Maritime Researchers and Authors Association of Nigeria (MARASSON) has said the commissioning of a 6,000-tonne-per-day lithium processing plant in Nasarawa State has placed fresh pressure on the maritime and transport agencies to urgently address logistics bottlenecks that could undermine the country’s ambition to become a major exporter of processed minerals.

In a statement signed by the Director of International Trade at MARASSON, Sunday Ademuyiwa, the association said the plant represents a major test of Nigeria’s ability to move large volumes of processed and hazardous minerals from a landlocked state to international markets safely, efficiently and transparently.

Ademuyiwa said the development also serves as a wake-up call to the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy and other stakeholders in the country’s logistics chain.

He said for decades, the country’s solid minerals sector had historically been constrained by bottlenecks at three critical points, which include the mine gate, the highway and the port gate, warning that the new lithium plant would expose weaknesses in the country’s export logistics system if urgent measures were not taken by the maritime agencies.

Ademuyiwa charged the NPA to give priority berthing and dedicated terminals for critical minerals, noting that 200 trucks daily cannot meet Apapa gridlock.

He also challenged NIMASA to ensure that the ports and relevant personnel are adequately certified and equipped to handle lithium cargo in line with international dangerous goods requirements, so that foreign ships don’t reject the goods.

The maritime researcher further urged the NCS to deploy its electronic systems, including the new e-waybill and National Single Window, to prevent smuggling, under-invoicing, and other practices that could undermine mineral exports.

Ademuyiwa recalled the challenges affecting the country’s gold exports, stressing that effective cargo documentation, valuation, and monitoring would be critical as lithium exports increase.

He also called on the Federal Ministry of Works to accelerate the development of the dual Keffi-Abuja-Lokoja road corridor, warning that increased road movement of lithium cargo could place additional pressure on the route and destroy it.

The MARASSON official equally urged the Nigerian Shippers’ Council to protect exporters and other stakeholders from extortion and illegal charges along the logistics corridor.

“We have built the factory. If the agencies don’t deliver the roads, port, shipping and data, we have just built a very expensive warehouse in Nasarawa,” he said.

Ademuyiwa warned that failure to address the infrastructure and regulatory challenges could have serious consequences for the new investment, including plant production disruptions, job losses and declining investor confidence.

According to him, the failure to establish an efficient export chain could ultimately force Nigeria back to exporting raw ore rather than processed minerals, thereby undermining the economic benefits of local value addition.

The MARASSON official said the lithium development should therefore be viewed beyond the mining sector, describing it as a test of inter-agency coordination, governance and accountability across the country’s trade and maritime ecosystem agencies.

He added that the lithium plant would test whether agencies under the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy could coordinate effectively, share relevant data, and facilitate cargo movement in line with the requirements of a modern export economy.

Ademuyiwa questioned if the NPA, NIMASA, Customs and all stakeholders are ready at the port, noting that Nigeria’s industrialisation drive was now effectively connected to the logistics corridor linking Nasarawa State by road to the seaports,

Ademuyiwa further stressed that the issue was no longer solely about lithium but about the country’s capacity to build an efficient, transparent and accountable export system.

The MARASSON official urged all relevant government agencies in the maritime sector to begin preparations before the full-scale movement of lithium exports places additional pressure on existing road, port and shipping infrastructure.