The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry has proposed a port corridor coordination mechanism involving federal and state authorities, port agencies, terminal operators and truck owners to ease persistent gridlock at Apapa and Tin Can Island ports.
The proposal was the central resolution at the LCCI Freight Forwarders & Trade Group conference, themed “Optimizing Port Traffic and Terminal Efficiency: Public-Private Solutions for Apapa and Tin Can Island Ports,” held in Lagos on Tuesday.
Leye Kupoluyi, LCCI president, said the mechanism should identify bottlenecks, assign responsibilities, and monitor progress against measurable performance indicators, including cargo dwell time, vessel waiting time, and truck turnaround time.
“What is not measured cannot be managed,” Kupoluyi said.
Apapa and Tin Can Island ports are major ports in Nigeria and handle over 70 percent of Nigeria’s seaborne trade, according to Las Alli-Shobande, chairman of the Freight Forwarders & Trade Group, LCCI.
In 2025, the two ports generated about N4.6 trillion in customs revenue — N2.9 trillion in Apapa and N1.7 trillion in Tin Can Island, with indications that the figures will surpass in 2026, Alli-Shobande said.
“It’s a no-brainer to say that those two ports hold very significant positions in the economy of our country,” he said. “Our ports are more than gateways for imports and exports. They are critical economic infrastructure supporting manufacturing, commerce, employment, government revenue, and investment,” Kupoluyi said.
Persistent gridlock inside ports
Despite improvements on the access roads from both the Mile 2 and Ijora ends, traffic difficulties persist inside the seaports, according to experts.
Ikenna Nwosu, deputy chairman of the Freight Forwarders & Trade Group, LCCI, said the situation impacts terminal efficiency, with empty containers lined up to enter the ports and export cargo from outside Lagos missing vessels owing to delays.
“You have situations where you have export cargo coming into the ports from outside Lagos, and because of the traffic, they are delayed, and they miss the vessel that will take the cargo out of the country,” Nwosu said.
“You also have situations where cargo is loaded in the port, but to exit, it will take almost 24 hours because of congestion in the ports.”
On several occasions, both ports have run the risk of contravening the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code, the ISPS Code, developed by the International Maritime Organisation, Nwosu said.
The code sets a maximum number of vehicles allowed inside a port at any time to allow easy evacuation in the event of a security incident, he explained.
“If it comes by sea, there is a maximum number of vehicles to expect to have inside the port, so that if there is a problem, evacuation is easy,” he said.
He added that the congestion has created an unintended economy where customs agents have to rent hotels and sleep overnight inside the ports to monitor cargo.
Nwosu said the Lagos port corridor requires a management committee similar to the Abidjan-Lagos corridor, which has its own management committee of five countries — Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.
“Our own Port Corridor requires such a committee, which will be a clearinghouse for resolving this problem,” he said. “That is the framework of action that we need to put out there.”
He said the last quarter of the year to January is peak time for cargo clearance and port congestion is at its worst, making urgent action necessary.
Truck owners allege manipulation
Remi Ogungbemi, national president of the Association of Maritime Truck Owners, represented by Mohammed Sani, national secretary general, said truck owners bear the direct financial and operational consequences of delays.
He noted that the challenges affect the entire maritime value chain and Nigeria’s competitiveness.
AMATO’s technical team has documented complaints concerning call-up manipulation, plate numbers, multiple plate number entries, ticket racketeering, queue jumping, barrier breaches and departures from the first-in, first-out principle, Ogungbemi said.
“These concerns require proper investigation and verification. Our objective is not to make unsubstantiated accusations, but to ensure that the system is designed to prevent abuse,” he said.
The call-up system must do more than issue tickets, he said. It must verify the actual truck, confirm its presence at an approved park, establish queue position, and authorize movement in line with terminal readiness.
The association advocates a technology-driven, manifest-based system that protects the first-in, first-out principle and prevents unauthorized movements, with e-tags and integrated manifests to strengthen identification.
Ogungbemi said releasing trucks without regard to terminal receiving capacity merely transfers congestion from parks to port access roads and bridges. He recommended a batch release system based on verified terminal capacity and a coordinated electronic process for empty container returns among TTP, shipping companies, terminal operators and bonded terminals.
Regulator says efficiency is national priority
Akutah Pius Ukeyima, director general and chief executive of the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency, represented by Yusuf Bayangwa, assistant director trade, said improving port efficiency is not simply a maritime sector concern but a national economic priority.
“When our ports operate efficiently, businesses become more competitive, goods reach their destination faster, logistics costs decline, and the national economy benefits. Conversely, when congestion, unnecessary delays, unpredictable charges, and inefficient cargo handling processes persist, the consequences are felt across the entire economy,” Akutah said.
He listed persistent challenges including traffic congestion, inefficient truck scheduling, delays in cargo examination and documentation, inadequate integration of information systems, unpredictability in charges, delays in cargo evacuation, limited use of alternative routes and insufficient operational data.
“A logistics chain is a chain; when one is interrupted, it will affect the others,” he said.
Akutah said NPERA will promote an efficient, transparent and competitive port environment, but port congestion cannot be resolved by one agency acting alone.
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“We must move away from addressing congestion only when it becomes a crisis. Instead, we must establish a coordinated system that anticipates operational bottlenecks, shares information promptly, and resolves problems before they escalate,” he said.
Five-point plan
Kupoluyi outlined five priorities: strengthening coordination and accountability, improving truck traffic management, improving terminal productivity through modern equipment and digital yard management, accelerating digitalization through the National Single Window and upgrading access infrastructure while promoting rail and barge.
He said terminal operators should provide timely information on cargo readiness, shipping companies and freight forwarders must supply delivery information, and government agencies must enforce rules consistently.
“Digitalization must simplify processes, not merely transfer existing bureaucratic procedures online,” he said.
Kupoluyi said most issues are not new and ongoing reforms must be sustained. “Improving port efficiency is therefore not merely a maritime-sector objective; it is a national economic imperative,” he said.
Josephine Okojie-Okeiyi is a journalist with over five years’ reporting experience. She writes on industry, agriculture, commodities, climate change, and environmental issues. She is fellow of Thomson Reuters Foundation and Bloomberg Media Initiative for Africa.