Shippers’ Council pushes dry port projects into execution in boost for cargo tracking

The Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), Nigeria’s port economic regulator, has made its latest move towards rolling out real-time cargo tracking systems that have been decades in the works and reviving stalled infrastructure projects that have stretched the country’s logistics chain.

Pius Akutah, executive secretary of the NCS, has instructed its regulatory services and ICT units to collaborate with terminal operators and the Customs Service to develop an integrated dashboard that tracks real-time vessel turnaround and cargo processing metrics.

The data will feed directly into the Council’s monthly performance reviews, giving its leadership a clearer picture of movement and delays as they happen.

In March last year, the House of Representatives expressed displeasure over the failure of the management of the NSC to commence implementation of the International Cargo Tracking Note (ICTN), bleeding the country of profits.

Meanwhile, neighbouring countries like Ghana and Kenya are already a decade into implementation, and reaping the benefits.

Akutah had assured the committee of concluded plans for takeoff, but no real result has been seen since then.

There has been notable pushback from stakeholders citing legal issues and cost concerns surrounding the implementation, but the Customs Service has noted it has legal backing.

“Current cargo dwell time and vessel turnaround statistics remain unacceptable. We must work to ensure that cargo clearing timelines in Nigerian ports are reduced to match regional benchmarks.”

In addition to moving the needle on cargo tracking, several long-touted dry ports and border facilities, including those in Jos, Ogun, Kano, Potiskum and border communities, are also being moved out of limbo.

The NSC’s internal teams and zonal offices have been given strict reporting timelines and will now submit fortnightly updates to the Executive Secretary’s office, which will personally monitor whether the projects are staying within budget and on schedule.

“We must now move from good intentions to disciplined execution,” the secretary said.

At the operational level, NSC is enforcing a complete shift away from manual processing.

All departments are expected to fully deploy its Enterprise Content Management system by December 2025, a move that could shorten processing timelines for exporters, importers and port users who’ve long been frustrated by file-carrying delays.

Internally, staff at every level of the Council, from headquarters to zonal offices, are now being assessed based on measurable KPIs under the Federal Government’s new performance system. “Let us match our strategy with action.”

These changes mark the Council’s most direct attempt yet at tightening oversight over port service providers.