The Senate, yesterday, passed the revised Nigerian Port Economic Regulatory Agency (NPERA) Bill during plenary.

The passage followed a motion moved by Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, and seconded by the Minority Leader, Abba Moro.

The bill seeks to establish the Nigerian Shippers’ Council as an independent economic regulator of Nigerian ports, to address operational inefficiencies, reduce arbitrary charges, promote competition, improve cargo movement from ports to hinterlands and overall maritime services.

Recall that the NPERA Bill had experienced back and forth from the National Assembly to the Presidency for assent.

It was transmitted back to the legislators for amendment of certain provisions that were observed to conflict with the Nigerian Tax Administration Act (NTAA) 2025.

NSC’s Executive Secretary, Dr Pius Akutah, had earlier updated that the House of Representatives had effected the necessary corrections and sent it to the Senate for concurrence.

At the Committee of the Whole, Bamidele told the Senate that fundamental issues were identified requiring fresh legislative action following critical examination by the Ministry of Justice.

The lawmaker noted that a technical committee, comprising the Senate, House of Representatives and legal drafting experts from the Directorate of Legal Services, had convened.

According to him, the committee was mandated to resolve the issues raised after the detailed scrutiny of the bill and recommend necessary corrections for legislative reconsideration.

Relying on Orders 1(b) and 52(6) of the Senate Standing Orders, the lawmakers rescinded their earlier decision on the bill, as previously passed.

The lawmakers further recommitted the bill to the Committee of the Whole for careful consideration, amendment and passage, in line with legislative procedures.

The lawmakers subsequently considered and passed the bill clause by clause after exhaustive deliberation at the Committee of the Whole.

Meanwhile, inefficiencies in transaction processes across multiple agencies in the maritime sector, including documentation, customs procedures, regulatory approvals and other administrative and procedural bottlenecks, have driven up dwell times at Nigerian ports to 475 per cent, surpassing global averages.

According to a new report released by the Sea Empowerment and Research Centre (SEREC) yesterday, these administrative and procedural bottlenecks are responsible for the bulk of delays experienced at Nigerian ports, contributing between 60 and 73 per cent of total cargo dwell time.

The report, signed by Head of Research, SEREC, Dr Eugene Nweke, said the dominant constraint within the nation’s ports and trade ecosystem is not physical congestion, adding that delays occur largely before cargo movement even begins, embedding inefficiencies within the administrative layer of port operations.

SEREC stated that the report aligned with broader assessments by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, which have consistently identified procedural inefficiencies as a major barrier to trade facilitation in developing economies.

Breaking down cargo dwell time into three components, the report highlighted that transactional processes involving documentation and approval account for about 73 per cent, operational handling, 20 per cent, and storage just five per cent.

SEREC noted that with as many as 15 to 20 approval touchpoints among multi-agencies, the system creates duplication, delays and rising transaction costs.

The report cited the World Trade Organisation Trade Facilitation framework, which identifies such institutional fragmentation as a direct inhibitor of efficiency.

SEREC highlighted a significant competitiveness gap between Nigeria and other neighbouring countries, noting that average cargo dwell time at Lagos ports, particularly Apapa and Tin Can Island, ranges between eight and 16 days, compared to a global benchmark of three to five days.

In contrast to regional peers, the report stated that Lome port in Togo records a cargo dwell time of seven to 10 days, with a two to three days vessel turnaround rate, while Tema port in Ghana records a cargo dwell time of seven to 10 days and a three to four days vessel turnaround.

Nigerian ports, the report noted, have been found to record cargo dwell times of  up to 475 per cent, underscoring what it described as a “structural and systemic” inefficiency.