Nigeria is losing an estimated $10 billion annually to the activities of maritime cartels, regulatory lapses, and systemic inefficiencies within its port and shipping ecosystem, a new report has revealed.
The report, released by the Sea Empowerment and Research Centre, described the country’s maritime domain as a critical economic asset being undermined by entrenched interests and weak institutional control, resulting in massive revenue leakages and stunted growth.
According to SEREC, cartel dominance across port operations has fostered arbitrary charges, restricted competition, and inflated the cost of doing business—factors that continue to discourage investment and weaken Nigeria’s competitiveness in global trade.
The report highlighted that poor oversight and fragmented regulatory frameworks have enabled widespread trade mis-invoicing, under-declaration of cargo, and export irregularities, particularly within the solid minerals sector. These practices account for a substantial portion of the estimated annual losses.
Titled “Port of Plenty, Pipelines of Loss: A National Reawakening Call on Maritime-Enabled Resource Leakages,” and signed by the Head of Research, Eugene Nweke, the document described Nigeria’s maritime sector as an engine of trade that has increasingly become a channel for value erosion.
Despite handling over 1.5 billion metric tonnes of cargo annually, including crude oil exports, the report noted that non-oil exports contribute less than 10 per cent to Nigeria’s total export earnings—underscoring a structural imbalance in trade.
Central to the report is the issue of trade misinvoicing and under-valuation, with Nigeria estimated to be losing between $5 billion and $8 billion yearly due to under-declaration, misclassification, and poor export documentation, particularly in the solid minerals sector.
It further observed that despite abundant deposits of natural resources such as iron ore and gypsum, Nigeria continues to export raw materials at low value while importing finished goods at high cost.
This cycle, the report said, results in opportunity losses estimated between $15 billion and $20 billion annually due to limited domestic value addition.
SEREC warned that these practices weaken foreign exchange inflows, distort national trade data, and deprive the government of critical revenue.
It also pointed to vulnerabilities in Nigeria’s trade engagements with foreign industrial economies, including China, citing opaque financing structures, weak export monitoring systems, and poor enforcement of global best practices.
Describing Nigerian ports as both exit corridors for raw resource extraction and entry gateways for refined imports, the report said this dual role reinforces trade imbalances, industrial stagnation, and rising living costs.
“Frequent policy shifts and overlapping regulatory mandates have created systemic loopholes, encouraged rent-seeking behaviour, and enabled insider exploitation,” the report stated, adding that governance gaps have been weaponised for economic exploitation.
The report also identified structural weaknesses, including fragmented digital systems across port, customs, and shipping operations, lack of real-time cargo visibility, and continued reliance on manual processes.
It further flagged limited indigenous maritime capacity, noting that foreign shipping interests handle over 90 per cent of Nigeria’s seaborne cargo, resulting in annual freight payments of between $7 billion and $9 billion, much of which is repatriated abroad.
According to SEREC, the cumulative impact includes lost employment opportunities, infrastructure deficits, and widening poverty and inequality.
To reverse the trend, the organisation called for urgent, coordinated reforms involving federal ministries, maritime regulators, port authorities, and industry stakeholders. It stressed the need for enhanced transparency, accountability, and value retention within Nigeria’s maritime sector.
Key recommendations include the deployment of end-to-end cargo traceability systems, real-time export valuation mechanisms, and full digitisation of trade documentation.
The report also advocated for harmonisation of maritime digital platforms, development of indigenous shipping capacity, restriction of unprocessed mineral exports, and stronger regulatory enforcement.
SEREC warned that without decisive reforms, Nigeria’s ports will continue to function as pipelines of national loss rather than engines of economic prosperity, urging strategic alignment, institutional discipline, and policy coherence to reposition the sector as a driver of industrialisation and economic sovereignty.
With additional report from Daily Trust.
