President Bola Tinubu has assented to the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency Act, 2026, giving the Nigerian Shippers’ Council full statutory backing to perform its role as the economic regulator of Nigeria’s port sector.
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Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Pius Akutah, announced the development on Thursday, describing the President’s assent as the culmination of years of efforts to establish a substantive legal framework for economic regulation at the nation’s ports.
“Thank you, Mr President, for making the Nigerian Port Economic Regulatory Agency Act, 2026, a reality,” Akutah said.
Details of the implementation framework for the new law were, however, yet to be made public as of the time of the announcement.
The legislation is expected to strengthen the regulatory powers previously exercised by the Shippers’ Council on an interim basis and provide a statutory foundation for the supervision of economic activities within the port sector.
Maritime expert Eugene Nweke said the Act effectively paved the way for a statutory economic regulator with powers to sanction operators who breach applicable rules.
According to him, efforts to establish the regulatory framework date back several years and became particularly important following the concession of Nigeria’s ports in 2006.
Nweke explained that the Federal Government designated the Nigerian Shippers’ Council as the interim economic regulator of the ports in 2014, pending the enactment of a substantive law.
“Without an Act, the council performed regulatory functions based on policy and a 2015 government gazette,” he said.
Under the new legislation, the regulator is expected to exercise powers over tariffs, rates and charges imposed by service providers within the port system.
It will also have responsibilities relating to competition, licensing of service providers and the resolution of commercial disputes arising within the maritime and port sector.
“The new law empowers the regulator to oversee tariffs, rates, charges, competition and licensing of service providers.
“It also provides legal backing for resolving commercial disputes in the port sector,” Nweke said.
The journey to the new law was not without controversy, as earlier versions of the proposed legislation attracted concerns from operators and other stakeholders over the possibility of overlapping regulatory functions.
Among the concerns raised were possible duplication of responsibilities already being performed by the Nigeria Ports Authority and the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency.
Clearing agent Bola Muse and other industry stakeholders had consequently called for a clearer delineation of responsibilities among the agencies to prevent regulatory conflicts and overlapping mandates.
The bill was reportedly passed by both chambers of the National Assembly in late 2025 but was subsequently returned by President Tinubu because of identified conflicts with the Tax Administration Act, 2025.
Following the President’s observations, the National Assembly addressed the contentious provisions and subsequently passed a harmonised version of the legislation in April 2026.
The President’s eventual assent has now completed the legislative process and provided the Nigerian Shippers’ Council with the legal foundation stakeholders had sought for its role as the economic regulator of the port industry.
Industry stakeholders welcomed the development, describing it as the beginning of a new phase in the regulation of Nigeria’s ports.
Some stakeholders referred to the strengthened Shippers’ Council as “a new sheriff in town,” reflecting expectations that the new statutory framework would enhance oversight of operators, strengthen enforcement and improve accountability in the sector.
The new Act is also expected to provide greater certainty over the regulation of port charges and commercial relationships between service providers and users, while giving the regulator clearer authority to intervene in disputes and sanction breaches.
Attention will now turn to the implementation framework, particularly how the responsibilities of the new regulatory structure will be delineated alongside those of other maritime agencies to avoid the duplication and jurisdictional conflicts previously raised by stakeholders.
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