Oyetola Orders Transfer of Inland Dry Ports to NPA, Sets Up Committee for NSC–NPERA Transition

The Nigerian Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr. Adegboyega Oyetola, has directed the transfer of the inland dry port (IDP) functions of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) to the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), in a move aimed at creating a clear separation between port economic regulation, development and operations.

In a statement issued by his Special Adviser Dr. Bolaji Akinola in Abuja on Thursday, the Minister also directed the immediate constitution of a ministerial committee to oversee the transition of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council into the newly established Nigeria Ports Economic Regulatory Agency (NPERA), following President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s assent to the NPERA Act, 2026.

The directives are part of measures to establish a clear institutional framework for the new port economic regulatory regime, eliminate overlapping responsibilities and ensure that agencies under the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy operate within clearly defined mandates.

The NPERA Act, signed by President Tinubu in August, formally establishes a substantive economic regulator for Nigeria’s port sector, bringing to an end a two-decade wait for a dedicated statutory port economic regulator.

With the enactment of the law, the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, which had operated as the country’s interim port economic regulator since 2014, transmutes into NPERA.

Under the new framework, NPERA is expected to focus primarily on its core economic regulatory responsibilities, including the regulation of tariffs and charges, promotion of competition, licensing, service standards, commercial dispute resolution and protection of port users.

Oyetola said the transition from NSC to NPERA provides an opportunity to establish a regulatory institution that is clearly separated from operational, developmental, and promotional responsibilities.