Nigeria enacts NPERA Act to regulate seaport economy

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has signed the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency (NPERA) Act, 2026, establishing a permanent statutory foundation for economic regulation within Nigeria’s seaports. The legislation aims to provide a framework for managing tariffs, competition, service standards, and commercial disputes, tasks previously handled by the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) under interim arrangements.

Industry stakeholders, including the Africa Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria (APFFLON), have welcomed the Act as a historic opportunity to sanitize the port system. APFFLON has called for the NSC to move toward effective enforcement to address issues such as arbitrary charges, operational bottlenecks, and excessive costs that have historically undermined port competitiveness.

However, maritime experts have noted potential challenges regarding jurisdictional overlap. There are concerns that the powers of the new NPERA must be clearly delineated from the existing responsibilities of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), which manages port infrastructure and estate under a landlord model. Ensuring a clear separation between NPERA’s economic regulatory jurisdiction and the NPA’s operational mandates is considered critical for successful implementation.