NPA chief tells London investors Nigeria's ports need private cash
- NPA managing director Abubakar Dantsoho pitched Nigeria's ports to global investors at the World Ports Conference in London.
- He said Lekki Deep Sea Port, built for $1.6bn, is already at full capacity about three years after opening.
- Dantsoho said governments alone cannot fund bigger seaports and urged private investors to move into Africa.
The managing director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Dr Abubakar Dantsoho, has told global maritime investors in London that Nigeria's ports need private money to keep up with the country's growing population and trade.
Dantsoho spoke at the World Ports Conference, according to statements from the NPA reported by Tribune and ThisDay. He pointed to Nigeria's large population, rapid urbanisation and gaps in port infrastructure as openings for investors.
He also holds two regional posts: vice-president of the International Association of Ports and Harbours (IAPH) and chairman of the Port Management Association of West and Central Africa (PMAWCA).
Lekki already full, three years on
Dantsoho said the Lekki Deep Sea Port in Lagos, Nigeria's first deep-sea port, cost $1.6 billion and was built with Chinese funding in partnership with China Harbour. About three years after it opened, he said, its capacity is already exhausted.
"We need more capacity to be able to contain the volumes," he said, adding that rising cargo volumes are good for the NPA's revenue.
He argued that governments across West Africa cannot fund bigger or deeper seaports alone. "The government cannot fund development of bigger or deeper sea ports, hence the need for your investment to move speedily into Africa," he told the investors.
He credited President Bola Tinubu's administration with creating an investment-friendly environment, saying private capital must be attracted and retained to meet the demand.
On population, Dantsoho said Nigeria had 45 million people at independence in 1960 and now has more than 260 million. He said most cargo entering West Africa ends up in Nigeria, comparing Nigeria with Ghana (34 million people), Côte d'Ivoire (32 million), Benin (14 million) and Togo (nine million).
Much of that cargo, he said, comes from China.
What happens next
The sources do not say whether any investment deals were signed in London, or what specific projects the NPA is offering. For ordinary Nigerians, the pitch matters because port capacity affects how quickly goods enter the country and, ultimately, what they cost in the market.
Dantsoho's remarks suggest the NPA wants private partners to fund deeper berths and more cargo-handling space, rather than waiting on government budgets.
