The Federal Government has begun a major restructuring of Nigeria’s port administration, with the functions of Inland Dry Ports being moved from the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) to the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), while the NSC transitions into the newly established Nigeria Ports Economic Regulatory Agency (NPERA).

The changes follow President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s assent to the NPERA Act, 2026, which formally establishes a dedicated economic regulator for the nation’s port sector. The development ends the Nigerian Shippers’ Council’s interim role as port economic regulator, a responsibility it had performed since 2014.

Under the new arrangement, NPERA will concentrate on economic regulation, including tariffs and charges, competition, licensing, service standards, commercial dispute resolution and protection of port users. The Federal Government said the restructuring is intended to remove overlapping responsibilities and create clearer boundaries between regulation, port operations, infrastructure development and promotion.

The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr. Adegboyega Oyetola, has consequently directed the constitution of a ministerial committee to manage the transition from NSC to NPERA and ensure that functions are assigned to the appropriate institutions. He said the reform would help establish an independent regulatory framework, noting that an economic regulator should not simultaneously perform functions that could compromise its neutrality.

Oyetola also directed the transfer of the Inland Dry Port functions of the NSC to the NPA, stressing that the move was aimed at strengthening the development and integration of dry ports into the country’s wider port infrastructure and operational network. He assured stakeholders that the restructuring was not a withdrawal of Federal Government support for inland dry ports, but an effort to place their development and promotion under institutions with more appropriate operational and infrastructure mandates.