Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, has begun a restructuring of Nigeria’s port administration with an order transferring inland dry port functions previously handled by the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) to the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).
The directive, according to a statement by the minister’s Special Adviser, Dr Bolaji Akinola, is part of measures to remove overlapping functions among agencies under the ministry and draw a clearer line between port regulation, development and operations.
Oyetola also ordered the immediate formation of a ministerial committee to supervise the transition of the NSC into the newly established Nigeria Ports Economic Regulatory Agency (NPERA), following President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s assent to the NPERA Act, 2026.
The minister said the restructuring was necessary to create an institutional framework in which agencies would operate according to clearly defined mandates, thereby reducing duplication and potential conflicts in the management of the nation’s maritime sector.
According to him, the transformation of the NSC into NPERA presents an opportunity to build a dedicated port economic regulator that is insulated from operational, developmental and promotional responsibilities.
The latest directives effectively position the NPA to handle inland dry port functions, while the emerging NPERA is expected to focus on economic regulation, in line with the Federal Government’s broader effort to streamline governance of Nigeria’s ports and maritime economy.
