The Chairman of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT), Calabar Branch, Dr Aniefiok Iton, has urged Nigeria and other Gulf of Guinea nations to formalise maritime trade activities to maximise opportunities under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).

Iton spoke during a two-day conference on “Promoting Coastal Maritime Trade with Littoral Countries Along the Gulf of Guinea,” held yesterday in Calabar, where maritime experts, transport practitioners, academics and government officials gathered to discuss strategies for strengthening regional trade.

Speaking during the technical session, she described the conference as timely, stressing that the maritime sector remains critical to economic growth, regional integration and revenue generation across Africa.

According to her, widespread informal trading activities around Nigeria’s waterfronts and border communities continue to deprive governments of substantial revenue due to poor documentation and lack of regulation.

“This conference is important because many traders and operators do not fully understand the formal processes involved in maritime operations,” she said, adding that the event was designed to create awareness and provide practical training for operators in the sector.

Iton explained that formalising coastal trade would improve efficiency, enhance competitiveness and enable governments to monitor and generate revenue from maritime commerce through proper documentation and regulation.

She added that Cross River State and other coastal states stand to benefit significantly if stakeholders embrace structured coastal trade systems linked to the Gulf of Guinea market and the wider AfCFTA framework.

The CILT chairman also called for sustained investment in human capacity development, insisting that continuous learning, collaboration and professional training were essential for growth in the evolving maritime and logistics sector.

She disclosed that discussions were ongoing with state governments, ministries and agencies to encourage investment in capacity-building programmes aimed at attracting more young people into maritime careers.

One of the lead speakers at the conference, Rector of the Marine and Ocean Academy, Dr. Kingsley Ekwere, highlighted the strategic importance of the Gulf of Guinea to global commerce, noting that the region stretches nearly 6,000 kilometres from Senegal to Angola.

Ekwere stressed that effective trade promotion within the region would require stronger connectivity, regional integration, improved security and sustained collaboration among participating countries, while identifying ports as critical infrastructure for driving trade under AfCFTA.

He warned that piracy, cybercrime and geopolitical tensions around the Strait of Hormuz were gradually shifting global maritime attention toward the Gulf of Guinea, creating fresh opportunities for African coastal nations.

Stakeholders at the conference subsequently called for stronger investment in coastal transport systems, maritime education, regional security cooperation and modern port infrastructure to position the region as a globally competitive trade corridor.