The pioneer Director General (DG) of the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency (NPERA), Dr Akutah Pius Ukeyima, MON, FCILT, has charged the workforce to ditch old habits and embrace a culture of unalloyed commitment as the newly minted regulatory powerhouse takes charge of the nation’s maritime gateways.
Addressing a high-stakes town hall meeting at the agency’s Lagos headquarters, Dr Akutah declared that transitioning from the Nigerian Shippers’ Council to NPERA is not just a change of name, but a call for a radical shift in operational mindset to deliver bulletproof economic regulation across Nigerian ports.
The high-level engagement marks one of the management’s first major interfaces with the workforce following President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s historic assent to the landmark NPERA Act.
Hailing the legislation as a definitive milestone for Nigeria’s maritime architecture, Dr Akutah stated that the new legal framework significantly sharpens the agency’s teeth to curb sabotage, optimize port efficiency, and boost Nigeria’s competitive edge in global trade corridors.
“The NPERA Act has strengthened our regulatory powers to institute effective regulation at the ports. With this mandate, we are positioned to drive efficiency, transparency and competitiveness in the port sector,” Akutah declared.
He further noted that the agency’s newly expanded legal teeth will serve as a critical engine room for the Federal Government’s grand vision of building a $1 trillion economy by establishing a highly predictable, transparent, and business-friendly maritime gateway.
The NPERA helmsman expressed deep gratitude to President Tinubu for signing the bill into law, describing the Act as the long-awaited legal catalyst required to fully transform the agency into a robust economic regulator.
He also gave high praise to the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr Adegboyega Oyetola, for his steering leadership and for building the crucial stakeholder consensus that fast-tracked the passage of the legislation, while extending appreciation to the National Assembly for enacting the law.
Addressing industry anxieties, Dr Akutah assured stakeholders that NPERA will work hand-in-hand with sister agencies, particularly the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), to deepen institutional reforms and elevate service delivery across the maritime domain.
He firmly debunked fears of turf wars, emphasizing that the new legislation does not spark institutional rivalry but rather provides a razor-sharp definition of NPERA’s distinct role as the premier economic regulator of all port activities.
“NPERA is to promote a healthy sector that will grow the economy of Nigeria,” Akutah declared.
The landmark NPERA Act legally transitions the former Nigerian Shippers’ Council into a statutory economic powerhouse, armed with an expanded mandate to regulate tariffs, enforce service standards, champion fair competition, facilitate trade, and arbitrate commercial disputes within Nigeria’s ports ecosystem.
