NPA in High-Powered Pact with Stakeholders to Clear Bottlenecks at Nation’s Ports’ Corridors … Signs Agreement with Police to Crackdown On Unauthorised Checkpoints

NPA in High-Powered Pact with Stakeholders to Clear Bottlenecks at Nation’s Ports’ Corridors

… Signs Agreement with Police to Crackdown On Unauthorised Checkpoints

The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), the Nation’s foremost Port regulatory agency of government, has once again stood in the gap as port landlord, leading the pack of all relevant Stakeholders in the bid to bring sanity at the nation’s Seaports’ operational corridor, especially, the Lagos ports.

Poised to find lasting solutions to reports of activities of miscreants, illegal tolling on goods exiting the ports, multiple illegal police and Lagos state officials’ checkpoints, jurisdictional overlapping among security agencies,  among other noticeable illicit activities that have made the port unattractive to users, NPA has met with relevant Stakeholders, and resolutions to bring lasting solutions were reached.

The Managing Director of NPA, Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho, who is leading the solution pathway, disclosed this after a high-powered stakeholder meeting at the Authority’s headquarters in Marina, Lagos recently.

He informed journalists after a closed door meeting with the Stakeholders which lasted for several hours that the security agencies, freight forwarders and transport unions have agreed on measures to eliminate operational bottlenecks affecting port access roads.

According to him, investigations revealed multiple challenges along the corridors, including illegal extortion points, jurisdictional overlaps among security agencies, and distortions that have consistently slowed down cargo movement.

“We have problems along the port corridor in Apapa and Tin Can Island. Now, we have established that there are issues around expulsion along the corridor. That is outside the port,” Dantsoho said.

He further explained that some of the operational disruptions extended beyond the immediate port environment, noting that activities around Berger and Mile 2 also fall within the affected corridor network.

The NPA boss also identified jurisdictional conflict between security agencies as a major concern.

“The second issue is the issue of overlap, jurisdictional overlap. In our system, what is established is that there is a police command for the port system, Maritime Police, and then there is also the Lagos State Police Command. So, in some instances, there are clashes, overlaps,” he said.

According to the NPA boss, the meeting reached important resolutions aimed at improving coordination among all stakeholders to ensure smoother port corridor operations.

Dantsoho further said that both the Maritime Police and the Lagos State Police Command have from the meeting denied ever authorising the establishment of checkpoints along the corridors, as he noted that a great lot of success was achieved from their discussions. He however described the development as a positive step toward eliminating delays that have long frustrated importers and exporters.

Speaking with the media earlier, the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) in charge of Maritime Police, Mrs Okunade Ronke, along with Lagos State Police Command both unequivocally stated that they do not send anybody to mount roadblocks or checkpoints on any part of the corridor.

Okunade denied claims that police officers are deployed to checkpoints along the Lagos port corridors, insisting that any personnel found extorting truckers under such pretenses are acting illegally.

She however supported that the discussions were productive, fruitful, and had produced a consensus on a coordinated way forward to address the challenges affecting port access roads.

She explained that agencies agreed to establish a joint task force comprising the Lagos State Government, the NPA, the police, and other relevant stakeholders to ensure smoother operations around the Apapa and Tin Can Island port corridors, with a focus on eliminating extortion and improving traffic flow.

Okunade also emphasized that there are no officially sanctioned police checkpoints along the port access routes, stressing that any officer found operating under claims of deployment from Zone 2 or the Maritime Police is acting fraudulently and should be reported for disciplinary action.

“We have never posted officers to any checkpoint around the port environment,” she said, adding that complaints of illegal activity would be escalated to the appropriate authorities for investigation and sanction.

She noted that the new collaborative framework would help streamline enforcement and reduce jurisdictional conflicts that have previously complicated operations along the corridor.

Dantsoho again added that all relevant agencies, including security organisations, freight forwarders, and government bodies, have committed to deeper collaboration to enhance efficiency and position Nigeria’s ports as regional leaders.

Noting that Nigeria’s port system has already received global recognition for improvement, Dantsoho further said that, “Our emphasis will be that we are going to function, and then function better in our practices, so we can do better than our neighboring countries,” he said.

“Our port system inside the ports has recently been confirmed as one of the most improved in the world by the World Bank,” he said, as he attributed the progress to ongoing reforms under the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu federal government.

In addition, he expressed high optimism that the latest agreements which include setting up a high profiled committee included all Stakeholders, would significantly reduce congestion and improve cargo flow along the Apapa and Tin Can corridors.

“I want to thank you for coming to support us. We have achieved great success from this meeting. The discussions were of high quality, and the outcome, I believe, is also high quality,” he concluded.

Stakeholders at the meeting, including representatives of the Nigerian Ports Authority and the Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO), welcomed the move, describing it as a step toward addressing long-standing concerns about extortion, harassment, and disruption of cargo movement.

They also agreed that a broader committee would be constituted, bringing together government agencies, freight forwarders, and transport operators to develop clear terms of reference for sustained monitoring and enforcement.

On his part, the Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, emphasized the need for inter-agency cooperation, noting that the issue goes beyond transportation alone and involves security and regulatory enforcement across multiple jurisdictions.

He as well added that while illegal operators are occasionally arrested and prosecuted, sustained collaboration among stakeholders remains key to resolving the challenges permanently.

All participants however expressed huge optimism that the coordinated approach which is a welcome development would improve security, ease congestion, and enhance operational efficiency along the Lagos port corridors.