After Tinubu’s Directive, Release Of 300 Power Equipment Containers Trapped At Port Begins, Say Customs

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says it has begun the process of releasing more than 300 containers of electricity equipment stranded at Nigerian ports for between 14 and 20 years, following President Bola Tinubu’s directive for their immediate clearance.

The national public relations officer of the NCS, Abdullahi Maiwada, confirmed to LEADERSHIP that the Service had received a letter from the Federal Ministry of Finance directing it to expedite the release of the containers.

Maiwada said the Service had begun working on the release of the equipment, which is expected to support efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s electricity transmission infrastructure.

“Just to inform you, I just confirmed that we received a letter from the Federal Ministry of Finance and we have started expediting the release of the more than 300 containers of electricity equipment that have been left stranded at Nigerian ports for between 14 and 20 years,” he said.

The Customs spokesman added that the letter was signed by the Minister of Finance, although he said he did not have details of its contents.

“We have received a letter from, I don’t have the details of the letter, but I just confirmed to you that we have received the letter signed by the Honourable Minister directing us to expedite the release of those items.

“And we are working on that. We have started working on releasing those items,” Maiwada said.

The development follows Tinubu’s directive for the immediate clearance of the containers, with the Ministry of Power, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the NCS instructed to remove the bottlenecks preventing the release of the equipment.

The Minister of Power, Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe, had announced the presidential directive after a Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by Tinubu.

Tegbe said the containers held materials required for electricity transmission projects but had remained at the ports because of unpaid charges and unresolved clearance procedures.

He described the prolonged delay as a major setback for the power sector, particularly as ageing transmission infrastructure continues to limit the amount of electricity the national grid can deliver to homes and businesses.

“It is unacceptable that equipment meant to strengthen the grid has been sitting at the ports for years,” he said.

“The President has directed that this must be resolved.”

The minister said some of the containers had reportedly remained uncleared for as long as 20 years, adding that the delay was largely caused by the failure of previous administrations to settle outstanding port charges and complete the necessary clearance procedures.

The release of the equipment is expected to support ongoing efforts to improve the country’s electricity transmission capacity and address infrastructure challenges affecting power supply.

The Service, however, is yet to provide details of the clearance process, including the number of containers to be released immediately and the timeline for completing the exercise.