Stakeholders seek Port Modernisation, urge Competitive Charges, Skilled Manpower at MAMAL 2026
Stakeholders Seek Port Modernisation , Urge Competitive Charges, Skilled Manpower at MAMAL 2026
By Babatunde Aremu
Stakeholders at the 4th Annual Maritime Lecture of the Maritime Reporters’ Association of Nigeria (MARAN) have called for a holistic approach to port modernisation, stressing that infrastructure development, technology, skilled manpower, competitive charges and efficient cargo evacuation must work together to make Nigerian ports globally competitive.
The stakeholders spoke at the MAMAL 2026 lecture held on Thursday, September 10, 2026, in Victoria Island, Lagos, with the theme: “Nigerian Ports Modernisation, Charges and the Competitiveness Question.”
Delivering one of the major interventions at the event, Captain Wareddi Enisuoh, Director, Technical and Operations, Tantita Security Services Limited, warned that modernising port terminals without addressing the infrastructure and logistics systems outside the ports would do little to resolve Nigeria’s persistent congestion challenges.
Enisuoh argued that the modernisation of Nigerian ports must extend to exit points, roads, bridges and other cargo evacuation channels.
“You cannot modernise a port without modernising your exit points,” he stressed.
According to him, even if Apapa and Tin Can Island ports are fully automated, inefficiencies outside the terminals would continue to undermine the benefits of automation.
“If you like, automate Apapa Port. If you don’t automate outside of Apapa Port or even Tin Can Island, you are still going nowhere,” he said.
He cited Togo’s one-stop-shop system as an example of how streamlined procedures could reduce bureaucratic bottlenecks, noting that users could make payments for various port-related services at once.
Enisuoh also referenced the Port of Los Angeles, where he said advanced automation, artificial intelligence and GPS-enabled systems have transformed container handling and cargo movement.
He explained that automated systems could facilitate the accurate stacking, retrieval and movement of containers, thereby reducing delays within port terminals.
However, he questioned the effectiveness of such automation when cargo encounters multiple challenges after leaving the port.
“But what happens when you come out of the port?” he asked, pointing to the challenges posed by informal collection points, security checkpoints and other bottlenecks along cargo evacuation routes.
The Tantita Security services Director further expressed concern over the heavy dependence on trucks for cargo movement from Lagos ports to other parts of the country, particularly the eastern region.
According to him, the pressure generated by trucks on Lagos roads and bridges makes it difficult to maintain the city’s infrastructure, adding that poor infrastructure would continue to generate congestion regardless of how much is invested in modernising the ports.
He therefore advocated greater investment in barging and inland waterways to reduce the number of trucks on the roads, minimise accidents and ease pressure on road infrastructure.
The Tantita executive also called for the development of Nigeria’s multiple ports, rather than concentrating maritime activities around Lagos.
He cited the Lekki Deep Sea Port, Warri Port and Port Harcourt Port, among others, while noting that several deep-sea port projects had been approved but were yet to be fully developed.
Also speaking at the event, the Acting Rector of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Dr. Kevin Okonna, stressed that port modernisation must be supported by competent professionals capable of operating and sustaining modern maritime infrastructure.
Okonna said port competitiveness was fundamentally about efficiency, innovation, safety, technology, effective regulation and quality human capital
The event featured the investiture of the President of National Association of Government approved freight forwarders ( NAGAFF) , Chief Tochukwu Ezisi as Patron of Maritime Reporters Association of Nigeria (MARAN).
