The Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), Dr Pius Akutah, in this interview with ADAKU ONYENUCHEYA and other maritime journalists, highlights how ongoing reforms – from port regulation to inland logistics and dispute resolution – are laying the foundation for a more efficient and globally competitive maritime economy. He also identified modern and robust legal regimes to govern the country’s maritime industry effectively.

The Council has been promoting the vehicle transit park. Could you give us insights into the project completion and contribution to the growth of the Nigerian economy, particularly the logistics sector?
Nigeria is a country located in West Africa with port infrastructures spread widely. As the most populous nation on the continent, Nigeria remains a country that the rest of Africa looks up to, even though it is not waiting for us.

Several African nations are already making deliberate efforts to develop their maritime infrastructure, especially in the area of logistics. Nigeria is not entirely behind, but we are behind to an extent, particularly because Africa expects us to take the lead in developing logistics infrastructure.

At the Council, we have carefully studied these infrastructural gaps and what is needed to address them. Today, we have developed two important maps, one covering the entire African continent. It highlights the distribution of critical maritime infrastructure, especially ones linked to logistics.

Under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), it is evident that one of the biggest challenges will be maritime logistics. Connecting African countries remains extremely difficult. For example, a vessel carrying cargo from Nigeria to Ghana may first go to Europe before returning to Ghana. This is inefficient and time-consuming, underscoring the urgent need for proper African connectivity.

A key challenge is that most African countries are not ship-owning nations. They lease vessels, and these vessels operate on predetermined routes that cannot easily be altered to create direct African shipping lanes. That is the crux of the problem.

Bringing it back home, we examined logistics supporting infrastructure and concluded that, as a Council, we must promote the development of inland dry ports, transit parks, border facilities, and similar structures. These will support the movement of transit cargo from the hinterlands to the seaports and bring shipping services closer to shippers across the country.

Regarding inland dry ports, we have several legacy projects. When the President assumed office, he pushed for the completion of the nearly finished Funtua Inland Dry Port. Currently, the operational dry ports are mainly in the north-western region, Kano, Kaduna, and Katsina. Others exist across the country, but their progress has been slow. We are working with state governments to accelerate their completion.

In Borno State, for instance, a privately developed inland dry port has been established. We are now engaging stakeholders to fast-track its completion so it can be commissioned during the second half of the President’s tenure. The Governor of Borno State is particularly committed to achieving this.

For Vehicle Transit Parks, one of the major issues is that we observed many road accidents are caused by driver fatigue. Drivers travel long hours without rest, leading to fatal accidents. To address this, we began promoting the establishment of Vehicle Transit Parks.

These parks are not only rest stops; they will also serve as economic hubs where drivers can relax, refresh, and secure their cargo. Rather than parking in unsafe roadside areas where goods can be stolen or damaged, drivers will have safe, secure, and well-equipped facilities.

We currently have about 14 of such parks at different stages of development nationwide. We have been intentional about ensuring an even geographical spread, and the map clearly shows this distribution.

On rail infrastructure, we appreciate this administration for completing the Lagos-Kano rail corridor. We are also hopeful about the development of the eastern rail line. Rail infrastructure is capital-intensive, but it remains the cheapest and safest means of moving cargo across the country. Once fully optimised, these systems will significantly ease the movement of cargo for shippers and enhance overall national logistics efficiency.

Can you provide an update on the Border Information Centres (BICs)?
Many of our border communities live directly along the border lines, yet they interact as though they are within a single country. They trade freely among themselves, and while much of this trade is informal, it is still significant. If we fail to capture these activities, our national trade database will remain incomplete.

This is why we established the BICs. Their purpose is to monitor the informal trade activities taking place in border towns and crossing points, document them, and ultimately promote processes that will formalise these activities. By doing so, we can fully capture them in our data systems. These centres are therefore critical to the accuracy and completeness of our trade information.

We are also engaging with neighbouring countries to address issues such as smuggling. The aim is to ensure that trade across the borders is properly recorded and that illegal smuggling is minimised.

Strengthening border monitoring helps ensure that only legitimate trade occurs, while protecting the economy from illicit activities. These are some of the key functions carried out by the Border Information Centres.

First, I must admit that Nigeria made a mistake by not signing the agreement immediately when it was negotiated. Nigeria was an active part of the negotiation process, and it all began in Abuja. We should have signed at the same time others were signing, so we could take advantage of the opportunities available at the onset.

Because we delayed, we lost many key opportunities to the secretariat in Ghana, opportunities that should naturally have been ours. Nigeria ought to have hosted the secretariat, but that chance is gone. The position of Secretary General and several other strategic roles that Nigerians could have secured were lost.

Thankfully, the agreement was eventually signed and now Nigeria needs to prepare itself to fully engage and maximise the benefits within it. One of the immediate priorities, as you earlier pointed out, is strengthening our connectivity.

Nigeria must work towards becoming a maritime hub not just for West Africa but for the entire continent, so we can ease the connectivity challenges across Africa, which remain a major obstacle to intra-African trade.

How would you rate the level of compliance so far with the Council mandate as a regulator?
Stakeholders in this sector have invested significantly, many of them committing very substantial capital and naturally, they want to recoup their investments and make profits. No investor wants to operate in a sector clouded by uncertainty or inefficiencies that could hinder the smooth running of operations or delay returns on investment.

So far, any regulatory mandate that has been properly communicated to stakeholders has been met with cooperation. For the modest reforms introduced, we have received tremendous support, and many stakeholders have openly aligned themselves with these reforms because they understand that a better, more efficient sector benefits everyone.

In terms of rating compliance, I would say it is high. I may not attach a specific percentage, but from what we have observed, compliance has been commendable.

For instance, when we commenced the registration of service providers across the sector, a large number voluntarily came forward to register without coercion or the need for heavy enforcement.

This gives me confidence that once our full regulatory mandate under the new law becomes operational, compliance will not be a major challenge. However, there is still work to be done.

Many countries are building their economies around this sector. They are investing heavily in infrastructure, strengthening institutions and granting them the authority needed to compete with similar institutions globally.

We cannot afford to delay. We must build our institutions, strengthen them and establish proper legal frameworks. These legal regimes will not only support us as regulators, but they will also apply to all players who want to do business within Nigeria.

Wherever there is trade, there are disputes. The maritime sector accounts for over 80 per cent of trade globally. Can you give the number of trade disputes resolved and the economic impact on Nigeria?
Last year, we made significant progress in this regard and also strengthened the agency’s capacity for managing maritime conflicts. As you rightly noted, more than 80 per cent of trade takes place within the maritime environment, and naturally, this comes with a high volume of disputes.

These disputes are often extremely costly to resolve, especially when they end up in court. The delays associated with litigation lead to demurrage and other financial implications that we are keen to avoid.

This is why, as a Council, we strongly promote alternative dispute resolution (ADR). Our Compliance Unit is specifically mandated to handle maritime conflicts promptly, so they do not escalate into lengthy court cases that waste investors’ time and erode the value of their investments.

The unit has become a dependable platform, and many stakeholders now approach us directly to help resolve their disputes. Most of these cases are settled amicably, allowing the parties involved to return to their businesses and even continue their partnerships seamlessly.

I can confirm the volume is substantial. The last count I reviewed showed that between 300 and 400 cases had been handled this year alone, with many more already processed.

What I can state with certainty is the financial impact. Last year, our interventions saved stakeholders over N6 billion in costs that would have been incurred had these disputes gone to court. This year, as at the last review, we have already saved more than N4 billion, and that figure has continued to grow.

Looking back at your two years of leadership, what would you identify as the most significant achievement of the Council?
Two years have indeed come and gone, and within that period, a great deal has happened in the Council. I will highlight the most significant achievement we have recorded, which is the Nigerian Port Economic Regulatory Agency Bill. The Bill, sponsored by the Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, progressed through both chambers of the National Assembly in record time and has now been passed.

At the moment, it is undergoing final refinements by the National Assembly after being vetted by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation. Once this stage is completed, it will proceed to the President for assent. This development is particularly important because the Council has long operated under a 1978 decree, now codified as CAP N133 LFN 2004. The Nigerian Shippers’ Council Act is an outdated law that no longer reflects the realities or reform direction of the maritime sector under the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.