The Sea Empowerment and Research Centre (SEREC) has called for transparency, accountability and performance-based decisions in the renewal of Nigeria’s 2006 port terminal concession agreements.
SEREC’s Co-Founder and Head of Research, Dr Eugene Nweke, made the call in a statement on Friday in Lagos.
Nweke said the debate on concession renewal should go beyond claims that non-renewal would automatically result in financial losses for the Federal Government.
He said the 2006 concession programme shifted port operations from direct public management to a landlord model, attracting private investment and improving efficiency.
However, he stressed that successful operations did not confer automatic right of renewal, adding that decisions should be based on measurable performance.
According to him, Sections 5, 6, 7 and 8 of the concession agreements provide for periodic assessments, with performance serving as a key consideration for renewal.
He listed the key performance indicators to include concession fees, cargo throughput, capital investment, equipment renewal, maintenance, safety, service quality and compliance with contractual obligations.
Nweke said the World Bank framework envisaged performance assessments to guide the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) in deciding whether to renew concessions or re-tender them competitively.
He said neither renewal nor non-renewal should be treated as automatic financial gain or loss, urging the government to focus on long-term economic value.
He explained that the financial implications should be assessed through fiscal revenue, transition costs and opportunity costs, using Net Present Value analysis to compare available options.
Nweke said terminal operators had invested about N200 billion over 10 years, compared with the N50 billion initially envisaged, but noted that such investments did not confer permanent ownership rights.
On the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency’s (NIMASA) floating dock, he said the N50 billion asset, acquired in 2018, illustrated the economic cost of capital tied up without corresponding productivity.
He said its non-deployment had resulted in foreign exchange leakages, lost employment opportunities, unrealised revenue and stalled human capital development for maritime trainees.
According to him, the situation reflected poor coordination among asset deployment, location, infrastructure, operators, market conditions, regulation, financing and accountability mechanisms.
To improve decision-making, Nweke recommended terminal-by-terminal audits, publication of Key Performance Indicator frameworks, reconciliation of concession fees and stronger periodic reviews.
He also called for an accountable commercial deployment programme for the floating dock, with a clearly defined operator, measurable utilisation targets and a firm operational timetable.
