The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr Adegboyega Oyetola, has unveiled the newly gazetted Nigeria Ports Economic Regulatory Agency (NPERA) Act, 2026, alongside the agency’s official logo, describing the development as a significant milestone in efforts to strengthen port regulation, boost investor confidence and enhance Nigeria’s maritime competitiveness.
The minister said the enactment of the NPERA Act, following President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s assent in June 2026, established a substantive statutory framework for port economic regulation after nearly two decades of efforts to institutionalise the function. He disclosed that he had directed the immediate constitution of a ministerial committee to oversee the transition of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, which had served as interim port economic regulator since 2014, into the new agency.
According to him, NPERA will be responsible for regulating tariffs and charges, promoting competition, enforcing service standards, resolving commercial disputes and protecting port users’ interests. “The credibility of an economic regulator rests, in no small measure, on its independence, impartiality and freedom from responsibilities that could give rise to actual or perceived conflicts of interest,” Oyetola said.
He directed the agency to operate as an impartial arbiter, free from competing regulatory and operational responsibilities. On port infrastructure, the minister highlighted plans to modernise Apapa, Tin Can Island, Onne, Rivers, Delta and Calabar ports, stressing that the programme would ensure balanced development across the country.
“No part of our national port system will be left behind in this modernisation programme,” he declared, adding that ports outside Lagos were equally important to Nigeria’s economic future. He also disclosed that the Federal Government had approved the development of the Ibom, Bakassi, Agge, Gateway, Ondo and Bonny Deep Seaports to expand maritime capacity and strengthen Nigeria’s position as a regional logistics hub.
On maritime security, Oyetola said Nigeria had maintained zero piracy incidents in its territorial waters through the Deep Blue Project. He described the lifting of the 12-year United States Coast Guard Condition of Entry on vessels arriving from Nigeria in August 2026 as a major achievement.