Nigeria’s eight-year pursuit of 24-hour operations at its seaports is yet to be realised.
In 2017, former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, through an Executive Order, directed the management of the seaports across the country to operate round the clock to enhance the prompt clearing of cargoes.
In the executive order he signed in May 2017 when he was the acting president, Osinbajo directed Apapa Port to begin 24-hour operations within 30 days.
Also, all government agencies in the ports were directed to harmonise their operations into a one-stop shop to smoothen operations.
The executive order reads, “All agencies currently physically present in the Nigerian ports shall within 60 days harmonise their operations into one single interface station domiciled in one location in the port and implemented by a single joint task force at all times, without prejudice to necessary backend procedures.
“The new single interface station at each port shall capture, track and record information on all goods arriving and departing from Nigeria and remit captured information to the head of the Ministry, Department and Agencies (MDAs) and the head of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on a weekly basis.”
But LEADERSHIP Sunday investigation revealed that the goal is far from being achieved.
Stakeholders, who spoke with our correspondent, blamed the development on the proliferation of government agencies, lack of automation, absence of cargo scanners, lack of 24-hour security and poor lighting of access roads in and out of the ports.
According to maritime experts, Nigeria’s economy is losing several billions of naira annually due to the inability of the nation’s seaports to operate round the clock.
Sadly, the federal government’s vision of 24-hour port operations at all Nigerian seaports is yet to see the light of day eight years after the government pronouncement due to the above-mentioned challenges.
Stakeholders say Nigeria is one of few countries in the world whose ports do not operate for 24 hours.
They asserted that 24-hour port operations would reduce the number of days for clearing goods at the seaports as well as make the ports more competitive.
At the 5th Journaling Port Industry Town Hall Meeting in Apapa, with the theme: “Bridging the Gaps to Actualise 24-hour Port Operations,” the speakers lamented that the lack of 24-hour port operations in Nigerian ports had taken a toll on the nation’s economy, with importers facing widespread and considerable financial setbacks.
They further noted that nations that have been operating 24-hour port operations around the world have been reaping the benefits.
The former national vice president of the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Kayode Farinto, said stakeholders, especially the Customs licensed agents, had been clamouring for 24-hour operations at the seaports, but it had not worked due to the proliferation of government agencies, lack of automation, absence of cargo scanners, and lack of 24-hour security, among others.
Farinto said scanners contribute about 20 percent to the non-realisation of 24-hour port operations.
He said if there were scanners, operators would be able to scan their consignments as soon as they were delivered from the vessels, adding that the availability of a scanning machine would increase the rate of delivery at the ports.
“What we have now is 100 percent examination. How many 100 percent physical examinations can a Customs officer conduct per day? If you have scanning machines, they can conduct over 1,000 containers in one hour. You can imagine the number of containers that will be delivered on time.
“So, lack of scanning machines contribute 20 percent to that problem,” Farinto stated.
Also speaking to LEADERSHIP Sunday, a shipper and former president of the Shippers’ Association Lagos State (SALS), Rev. Jonathan Nicol, said the government had a good intention when it gave the directive for the resumption of 24-hour port operations.
He said after former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo gave the Executive Order for certain government agencies to leave the port, “some left after a while and came back, which means the presidential order was not obeyed.”
Nicol corroborated that the lack of scanning machines at the ports is one of the reasons why there is no 24-hour port operations and cargo delivery.
“We have to conduct a physical examination on every cargo. I know of people who bring 400 containers every month and they conduct examinations on those containers.
“How many days will take you to do a physical examination on 400 containers, And, by all means, the owner of the containers is not the only person at the port. So, already, there is a bottleneck,” he stated.
According to him, vessels come into the nation’s ports almost every day to discharge their containers, and if they cannot release and move a minimum of 1,000 containers in a day, especially at the Apapa Port, it means there will be backlog and congestion.
He added that the Apapa Customs Command cannot exit more than 300 containers a day.“It is not easy for us to achieve 24-hour port clearance of cargo because the problems are huge. I think it is overwhelming the government agencies. We cannot even clear within 48 hours. The 24-hour operations is achievable if the platform is normal. Right now, everybody is operating in an abnormal situation.
“Even the terminals are overstretched not to talk of the importers. The importers are now developing high blood pressure because they can’t get their goods out of the port. They are losing supply contracts. If you have supply contacts for two months and four months, the goods are still at the ports, won’t you lose that supply contract? If you lose the contract, where are you going to sell the goods?” he asked.
Nicol called on the government to put in place an import adjustment policy and every stakeholder must be strictly made to obey it.
The president of the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA), Lucky Amiwero, lamented that limited operational hours at the seaports were not in line with global best practices.
“Therefore, Nigeria must achieve 24-hour port operations to be at par with global standards,” he said.
Amiwero said delays and the absence of nighttime operations increase the cost of doing business, reduce efficiency, and elongate the time lag for activities at the seaports.
Accordingly, he said, a new regime for cargo inspection should be prioritised with state-of-the-art scanners with artificial intelligence, especially fast scanners with the ability to handle over 200 containers per hour.
According to him, to ensure the nation’s infrastructure and policy initiatives geared towards 24-hour operations are sustainable, there is a need for cultural reorientation for all categories of port workers, service providers, and port users.
For his part, the chairman of the Nigerian Ports Consultative Council (NPCC), Bolaji Sunmola, said while Nigeria’s seaports handle over 85 percent of the country’s external trade by volume, their potential remains largely underutilised due to inefficiencies rooted in infrastructural decay, bureaucratic delays, fragmented regulatory systems, and, most notably, limited operational hours.
Referencing global modern ports such as Singapore, Rotterdam, and Busan that are active 24 hours seven days a week, Sunmola argued that their round-the-clock port operations and uninterrupted activities allow for quicker vessel turnaround, optimised cargo flows, and synchronised hinterland logistics.
He said Nigeria, by contrast, loses productive hours at night, resulting in ship discharge delays and increased costs that are passed down to the Nigerian consumer.
He further stated that poor lighting, inadequate surveillance systems, and decaying access roads make night operations risky and inefficient in Nigeria.
He pointed out that safe 24-hour operations demand robust electrical grids, well-illuminated terminals, rail-link connectivity, and automated gate access, noting that in Nigeria, regulatory duplication sometimes causes delays, higher transaction costs, and corruption opportunities.
Sunmola said a key enabler of 24-hour port operations is uninterrupted, sustainable, and cost-effective power, adding that Nigeria may not necessarily replicate energy-intensive, fossil-based models; instead, it can leapfrog into renewables and hybrid microgrids tailored to its climate and capacity.
He advised that Nigeria implement Solar Photovoltaic (PV) to power terminals, just as the ports of Jurong (Singapore) and the Port of Los Angeles, as well as hybrid microgrids, which combine solar, wind, and biofuel generators with battery storage to guarantee consistent power.
“Studies have shown that implementing solar hybrid systems in port facilities can lead to significant fuel cost savings and reduced downtime over time. For Nigeria, this translates into both financial savings and enhanced reliability,” he stated.
The head of Research at Sea Empowerment and Research Centre, Eugene Nweke, called for a comprehensive review of the policy framework guiding the industry, particularly in relation to other strategic areas of concern.
He stressed the need for the industry to reassess and address its infrastructural shortcomings, adding that opportunities still exist to make realistic progress.
On access and performance, Nweke voiced frustration with inefficiencies but urged a collective commitment to improvement, including in areas such as monetary evaluation and systemic accountability.
He also stressed the importance of deeper collaboration and consistent stakeholder engagement to ensure meaningful reforms.
He challenged the stakeholders to shift from a culture of blame to a more collaborative, solution-driven approach in tackling sector-wide challenges.
The maritime expert noted that while discussions had taken place over time, now is the moment for more deliberate and effective action.
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