“$1 Trillion Economy Possible and Achievable” –Dantsoho

The President Bola Ahmed Tinubu government is aggressively pursuing a $1trillion Nigerian economy capital base by year 2030. In this review of  what government agencies/private sector operators are doing/contributing to bring this vision to pass under the title series, The$1 trillion Economy: Drivers and Institutions, Maritime Nigeria Editorial Team, led by Kelvin Kagbare takes a look at efforts by the Nigeria Ports Authority as  our Hard Copy, Maritime Insider uploads.

 

The Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho has unequivocally stated that Nigeria’s quest for a one trillion economy is very possible and achievable if ongoing port modernization efforts and commitment by the Federal government are given support and gets the full  buy-in of stakeholders.

Dantsoho told a gathering of heads of sea port management technocrats in London; during the recent 2026 annual World Ports Conference organized by the International Association of Ports and Harbours, IAPH, that exports out of Nigeria increased by over 25 per cent in the last two year as a result of ongoing economic policies of the federal government.

The NPA helmsman cited Nigeria’s population as an advantage over other countries in the West and Central Africa region even as he attribute the growth in exports to deliberate economic policies put in place by the government of Nigeria to ensure economic growth and better lives for citizens.

According to the NPA Boss, “For us in Nigeria, we are excited that we are seeing growth as a result of government policies that we are working”.

“From our records and statistics, exports from Nigeria in the last two years increased by 25%. These are exports that are not only oil and gas, but also in the areas of manufacturing and agriculture, as we witness growth in crops like cocoa, cashew and other cash crops. Volumes have increased and that is to the credit of the partnership that we have with major terminal operators such as APM Terminals and others”

“Our Export Processing Terminals, EPT, were specifically established to ensure hitch free processing of exports. For now, we have four EPTs in Nigeria where we work with the terminal operators, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), and other agencies so that everything regarding the processing of export cargo is done to avoid issues on standards, quality and compliance to trade terms and regulations”

Interestingly, NPA reported that cargo throughput reached 32.38 million metric tonnes in the first quarter of 2026, representing an 11.6% per cent increase over the corresponding period in 2025.

Additionally, NPA is  also pursuing an ambitious $1 billion port modernization programme with digital initiatives such as the National Single Window, NSW,  as well as its Port Community System, PCS, put in place to simplify processes and reduce, if not eliminate delays.

With improved vessel turnaround time, faster timely cargo clearance, improved investor confidence are all essential to achieving Nigeria’s $1 trillion economy by year 2030.

Notwithstanding these efforts by the Dantsoho led management team at NPA, Maritime stakeholders  are of the view that with cargo throughput of 129.3 million metric tonnes in 2025, with half-year throughput already at 68.2 million metric tonnes and 815,236 TEUs, with Non-oil exports  rising, with ships no longer leaving Nigerian shores empty, with the Lekki Deep Sea Port leading and showing what modern, deep sea ports could offer to national economies, modernization and upgrade of infrastructure of all Nigerian sea ports must be stepped up and delivered within the shortest possible time.

As NPA focuses on port infrastructure upgrade, other government Agencies such as the Nigeria Ports Economic Regulatory Agency, NPERA, must insist on  and guarantees fair, predictable, dependable regulatory interventions to boost  investor confidence as the Nigeria Customs Service goes paperless in its trade facilitation objectives.

Undoubtedly, sea ports  cannot create a $1 trillion economy alone. Efficient, competitive, friendly ports are very critical to national economy.

Dantsoho optimism is fact based and data backed; but  the Nigerian $1 trillion economy vision will be won or lost, not in Abuja, but at the berths, the gates and the Customs clearance desks if modernization efforts are not sustained and efficiently implemented.