**As House Mandates Committee on Ports, Harbours to Ensure Compliance, Report Back Within Four Weeks
By: Celestine UkahÂ
The Member Representing Warri Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives, Honourable Chief Dr. Thomas Ereyitomi, has moved a motion on the Need to Support Decentralisation of Port Operations in Nigeria, especially in the Delta Ports of Warri, Koko, Burutu, and Sapele.
Chief Ereyitomi in his motion notes that the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) recently issued a policy to transfer specific operational activities from the Lagos and Tin Can Island Ports to the Delta Ports in Warri, Koko, Burutu, and Sapele, citing congestion, infrastructure strain, and the need to revive underutilised ports.
The Warri National Assembly member added that the improvements achieved at Warri, Koko, Burutu, and Sapele Ports include dredging of the Warri/Escravos Channel, rehabilitation of quay walls, underwater corrosion surveys, vessel traffic system upgrades, and new handling equipment procurement, alongside concessions approved by the National Council on Privatisation and the Bureau of Public Enterprises.
Rep Ereyitomi stressed that the policy aligns with long-standing Federal Government objectives to decongest Lagos ports by distributing maritime traffic more evenly across the country, thereby reviving underutilised ports in the Niger Delta and Eastern corridor as well as diversifying economic assets, reducing regional imbalance, and repositioning Nigeria as a competitive maritime hub in West Africa.
Chief Ereyitomi pointed out that the Warri, Koko, Burutu, and Sapele ports possess significant maritime capacity, with strategic proximity to industrial and commercial clusters across the Southeast, South-South, and North-Central zones, positing that excessive concentration of maritime activities in Lagos ports has resulted in chronic congestion, logistics bottlenecks, delayed cargo clearance, high demurrage and port charges, severe gridlock, and high logistics costs borne by businesses nationwide.
He expressed worry that Nigeria continues to incur high operational costs and suffer national economic losses due to over-dependence on Lagos ports, despite the presence of viable and underutilised facilities in Warri, Koko, Burutu, and Sapele Ports; cognisant that a strategic redistribution of port activities will enhance national trade competitiveness, stimulate economic activities, create employment, promote maritime security, enhance equitable regional development, and advance national decentralisation objectives.
According to the House of Representatives and Chief Ereyitomi, in the motion, resolved that fully leveraging the Delta Ports corridor would attract investment flows and improve Nigeria’s competitiveness in global trade, urging the Nigerian Ports Authority to expedite the decentralisation and optimisation of National port operations by relocating designated operations from Lagos to Warri, Koko, Burutu, and Sapele Ports under a structured, phased, and data-driven framework consistent with global best practices in port planning and maritime logistics.
As well, mandate the Committee on Ports and Harbours to ensure compliance and report within four (4) weeks for further legislative action.
