NPERA sets N20m corporate penalty for port infractions

The Director-General of the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency, Dr Pius Akutah, has stated that the agency now has stronger legal provisions for sanctioning infractions, unlike the previous regulatory framework under the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, adding that the highest penalty for a corporation is N20m.

Akutah stressed that the agency could multiply the penalty where a company continued to violate the law. According to a statement on Wednesday, Akutah spoke in Lagos when the President of the Shipping Correspondents Association of Nigeria, Mr Moses Ebosele, led a delegation of the association on a courtesy visit to the NPERA office in Apapa.

Akutah also identified efficient and competitive seaports as critical to Nigeria’s ambition of building a $1tn economy by 2030. He said the agency was committed to transforming the port regulatory environment through stronger enforcement, standard-setting, automation and digitisation.

The NPERA boss explained that the agency was established not only to regulate economic activities at the ports but also to enforce compliance and deter practices capable of undermining trade and port efficiency.

“In the past, there was no such potency in our law, so we couldn’t enforce anything because the penalties were too insignificant to deter any infraction. The new framework provides for a minimum penalty of N500,000 for an individual first offender, while penalties can increase where infractions are repeated.

“The highest penalty for a corporation is N20m, and the agency could multiply the penalty where a company continues to violate the law. The aspects of the law on legal enforcement or criminal prosecution for infractions captured in the NPERA law will serve as deterrence,” he said.

He mentioned that the objective was not to disrupt port operations but to establish a regulatory regime that would encourage stakeholders to comply with established standards.

“The idea is not to upset the system and make it chaotic or abnormal but rather to create a deterrent regime through the provisions of the law. With the fear of the consequences, they will play by the rules naturally,” he said.

Akutah said NPERA would also focus on setting standards and promoting innovation and digitisation to make compliance easier and reduce opportunities for human interference.

“Ours is to set the standards and promote innovations and digitisation of this sector to the point that those standards become very easy for people to maintain. Enforcement, on our own part, is continuing to ensure that these standards are not lowered at any time,” he stated.

On concerns over multiple regulatory agencies carrying out physical checks at the ports and the impact on trade facilitation, Akutah said NPERA was not seeking to prevent other government agencies from performing their statutory responsibilities.

He, however, insisted that such activities must be carried out responsibly without unnecessarily delaying cargo clearance.

The NPERA DG said greater automation and reduced human interference in port processes would help eliminate bottlenecks and make operations more seamless. “Once these processes are seamless, it will reduce costs on its own. The cost component is very crucial to us,” he said.

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Akutah linked the drive for efficient ports directly to the Federal Government’s ambition of achieving a $1tn economy by 2030.

“If we are building a trillion-dollar economy, it is not only in terms of the amount of money that the government will make but also the totality of the gross domestic product of the economy that will promote that one trillion dollars,” he said.

He added that the focus should extend beyond government revenue to the broader expansion of businesses and economic activities. “It is not just about what revenue the government is making but also how much business is booming in the country. Within a limited time, we will begin to see the results,” Akutah stated.

He also dismissed concerns over possible operational conflict between NPERA and the Nigerian Ports Authority, explaining that both agencies have distinct responsibilities.

According to him, while NPA is responsible for the development of port infrastructure, including seaports and inland dry ports, NPERA is responsible for the economic regulation of the facilities.

Akutah maintained that agencies within the marine and blue economy sector were working together to support the Federal Government’s economic diversification agenda and its target of building a $1tn economy by 2030.

Earlier, the president of SCAN, Moses Ebosele, said, “We are here first and foremost to congratulate the management and staff on the new responsibility entrusted to the agency to regulate Nigeria’s seaports.

“We recognise that this is a significant mandate with far-reaching implications for the maritime sector, the economy and the country’s overall trade facilitation efforts,” Ebosele said.

Ebosele, who also invited the DG to the SCAN 2026 summit scheduled for October 29, 2026, in Lagos, said the visit was also an opportunity to establish a stronger relationship between the association and the agency.

“We believe that effective regulation requires not only sound policies and enforcement, but also clear communication and continuous engagement with stakeholders,” he said.

In August, The PUNCH reported that NPERA, formerly known as the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, had formally commenced operations as the statutory economic regulator of Nigeria’s ports, following the President’s assent.

Announcing this in a statement, NPERA explained that it had a mandate to promote fair tariffs, faster cargo clearance, greater competition and a more predictable business environment.

According to the statement, the commencement followed President Bola Tinubu’s assent to the Nigeria Ports Economic Regulatory Agency Bill, 2026, which established NPERA as the dedicated authority responsible for the economic regulation of the nation’s ports.