President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has withheld his assent to the Nigerian Port Economic Regulatory Agency (NPERA) Bill, citing concerns about the agency’s mandate and the proposed one percent freight stabilization fee.
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The revelation came from the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers Council, Dr. Pius Akutah, during the visit of International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General, Arsenio Dominguez, to Lagos. The bill, which seeks to strengthen port economic regulation, was earlier returned to the Ministry of Justice for further review.
LIST OF APPLICATIONS FOR REGULARISATION OF AREA COUNCIL LAND DOCUMENTS NULLIFIED/CANCELLED BY THE HONOURABLE MINISTER OF FCT
According to Akutah, the presidency had questions about the Council’s legal authority to act as the port economic regulator and how the freight fee was to be managed. These issues were sent to the Attorney General and Minister of Justice for clarification. The Shippers Council later met with the ministry to address the concerns, presenting documents that confirmed the Council’s mandate was established through a Presidential Order issued in 2015.
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LIST OF APPLICATIONS FOR REGULARISATION OF AREA COUNCIL LAND DOCUMENTS NULLIFIED/CANCELLED BY THE HONOURABLE MINISTER OF FCT
The council explained that the confusion came from the wording of the bill, which made it seem like the one percent freight stabilization fee would serve as direct funding for the agency instead of being a revenue source generated by it. After the meeting, the identified errors were corrected to align with existing regulations and the presidential order.
The corrected version of the NPERA Bill has been returned to the National Assembly for reassessment before being sent back to the president for final approval. Since lawmakers were on recess, the process was delayed but is expected to continue once sessions resume.
Akutah assured that the legislative review will focus only on the amended sections regarding the agency’s authority and the freight fee arrangement. Once the National Assembly concludes its review, the bill will be resubmitted to the presidency for assent.
The NPERA Bill aims to give the Nigerian Shippers Council full legal backing to regulate economic activities in the nation’s ports and ensure fair practices across the maritime sector. With the corrections now in place, the agency is confident that the process is back on track and nearing completion.
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