The Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency (NPERA) Act, 2026 under the Nigeria Port Authority Act.

If your business touches Nigeria’s ports in any way, whether you’re an importer, a freight forwarder, a shipping line, a terminal operator, or a clearing agent, a new regulator now has real, statutory teeth over how you operate. On 19 June 2026, President Bola Tinubu assented to the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency Act, formally establishing NPERA and repealing the Nigerian Shippers’ Council Act that had governed the sector for nearly five decades.

This isn’t simply a rebranding exercise. It’s a genuine shift from a consultative, shipper-focused body to an express economic regulator with binding powers over registration, tariffs, monitoring, and enforcement. This article breaks down what changed, why it happened, and what businesses in the sector need to do now.

Why This Change Was Necessary

For decades, the Nigerian Shippers’ Council operated primarily as a forum protecting shippers’ interests, advising stakeholders on freight rates and port charges rather than exercising binding regulatory authority. That changed informally in 2015, when a presidential order designated the Council as the ports’ “Economic Regulator.” The problem was that this designation was never backed by an amendment to the Nigerian Ports Authority Act, the law that actually vested regulatory power over port use in the NPA.

This inconsistency landed in court. In Alraine Shipping Agencies (Nig) Ltd & Ors v Nigerian Shippers’ Council & Anor, the Court of Appeal held that a presidential order alone couldn’t override the NPA’s existing statutory regulatory role without corresponding legislation, and it set aside a tariff notice the Council had issued under that disputed authority. A related case, Apapa Bulk Terminal Ltd & Ors v Nigerian Shippers’ Council & Anor, reached a different outcome, leaving genuine legal uncertainty over the Council’s regulatory standing for years.

NPERA resolves this the correct way, through primary legislation rather than executive order, giving the new Agency’s powers unambiguous statutory footing.

What NPERA Is Actually Meant To Do

The Act pursues two clear objectives: establishing a legal framework for efficient economic regulation of port-related services, and protecting the interests of shippers, service providers, and users alike. This is meaningfully broader than the old NSC Act’s narrow focus on shipper protection alone.

The scope of “regulated services” is genuinely wide, covering vessel reception, cargo storage and handling, freight forwarding and clearance, stevedoring, haulage, cargo consolidation and brokerage, off-dock terminal operations, inland dry port services, and seaport terminal or jetty operations, among others. If your business sits anywhere near the movement of imports or exports through Nigerian ports, there’s a strong chance you now fall within NPERA’s remit.

Key Powers And Functions

NPERA is established as a body corporate capable of suing and being sued in its own name, with statutory functions including implementing the economic-regulatory framework, monitoring compliance with port concession agreements, setting registration terms and fees, setting and enforcing performance standards, mediating disputes between providers and users, and collaborating with the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.

One power worth flagging specifically: NPERA now has an express role monitoring compliance with port concession agreements, an area that has generated persistent concern since Nigeria’s port concession programme began in 2006, particularly around concessionaire investment obligations and service delivery standards.

How NPERA Is Funded

NPERA’s operations are financed through a dedicated Fund, drawing from an initial federal government take-off grant, National Assembly appropriations, registration fees, fines, and notably, a charge of 1% of the freight paid on every import into Nigeria. This levy isn’t new; the NSC previously collected a similar freight stabilisation fee under 1995 regulations. What matters for import-facing businesses is that this charge now applies specifically to imports, and given the sheer volume of Nigeria’s import trade, it represents a genuinely material funding source for the Agency, and a real cost line for businesses to account for.

Importantly, the Act expressly prohibits NPERA from accepting gifts, grants, or contributions from operators, service providers, or users within the regulated sector, a deliberate safeguard against regulatory capture.

Tariff Regulation And Registration Requirements

If your business is already licensed by another agency, say, an NPA-licensed terminal operator or a NIMASA-licensed shipping agent, don’t assume that license covers you under NPERA. The Act requires separate registration with the Agency before you can commence operations, treating it as an additional compliance layer rather than a substitute for your existing licence.

Every regulated service provider must file its tariffs with NPERA and cannot charge outside approved guidelines without the Agency’s consent. Publishing tariffs in violation of the Act is now a criminal offence, carrying minimum fines of ₦2,000,000 for specified service providers and ₦20,000,000 for shipping companies, seaport terminal operators, and inland dry port operators, doubling for repeat offences. This is a dramatic escalation from the ₦50,000 to ₦250,000 fines that applied to comparable conduct under the old regulatory regime.

Operating without required registration carries a fine of up to ten times the initial registration fee, or an outright prohibition from providing or using the relevant service.

Penalty Provisions for Defaulters

Unlike the old NSC Act, which contained no offence or penalty provisions at all, NPERA introduces a comprehensive enforcement structure. For general contraventions, individuals face a minimum fine of ₦1,000,000 or at least one year’s imprisonment (or both) for a first offence, rising for repeat offences, while corporate bodies face a minimum fine of ₦5,000,000, doubling for subsequent violations. Notably, company officers and directors can be held personally and jointly liable alongside the company itself, unless they can show the offence occurred without their knowledge or consent and that reasonable precautions were taken.

The Agency also has real investigative muscle: it can authorize officers or external inspectors to enter and inspect regulated premises (though entry requires a warrant), demand books and records, and impose escalating administrative sanctions, including suspension, blacklisting, or outright deregistration, for businesses that refuse to cooperate.

Where NPERA’s Mandate May Overlap With Other Regulators

This is arguably the most significant open question the Act leaves unresolved. NPERA’s regulatory powers apply to “prescribed services” that expressly include functions of the National Inland Waterways Authority, the Nigerian Ports Authority, and the Nigerian Railway Corporation, bodies that already exercise their own tariff-setting and enforcement powers under separate legislation the NPERA Act doesn’t amend or repeal.

The Act requires NPERA to perform its functions without contravening instruments implemented by other agencies, but it stops short of establishing a clear hierarchy or conflict-resolution mechanism between competing statutory mandates. In practice, this means questions may arise, for instance, over which body has primary authority to enforce concession terms, or whether NPERA’s tariff-setting power over “regulated services” conflicts with NIMASA’s authority over shipping services. Speaking publicly on the transition, NPERA Governing Board Chairman Dr. Ibrahim Shema was careful to clarify that the Agency isn’t meant to compete with the NPA, which retains its infrastructure and landlord functions, while NPERA provides independent economic oversight within its own statutory lane. Whether that division holds cleanly in practice, particularly around concession compliance, remains to be seen.

Dispute Resolution And Appeals

The Act creates a bifurcated appeal structure: competition and consumer protection matters go to the Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal, while other regulatory decisions go to the Federal High Court. Businesses should also note that NPERA benefits from procedural protections typical of federal regulatory bodies that didn’t exist under the old NSC Act: no lawsuit can be filed against the Agency until 30 days after formal written notice of intent to sue has been served, and no execution can be levied against its property without at least three months’ prior notice.

What Businesses In The Sector Should Do Now

Given the scale of these changes, businesses operating in or around Nigeria’s ports should promptly review their existing registration status against the new NPERA framework, confirm their tariff filings are properly documented and approved, and ensure internal protocols exist for responding to regulatory inspections and information requests. Given the genuine uncertainty around overlapping mandates between NPERA and other sector regulators, this is also a good moment to seek legal guidance on how your specific operations sit within this new structure.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does NPERA replace the Nigerian Ports Authority?
 No. The NPA retains its role as the landlord port authority responsible for infrastructure, while NPERA provides independent economic oversight, including tariff regulation and registration, within its own statutory mandate.

If I’m already licensed by NIMASA or the NPA, do I still need to register with NPERA?
 Yes. NPERA registration is a separate, additional requirement, not a substitute for sector-specific licences you already hold from other agencies.

What happens if my company publishes tariffs that violate NPERA’s approved guidelines?
 This is now a criminal offence under the Act, carrying minimum fines starting at ₦2,000,000 for most service providers and ₦20,000,000 for shipping companies and terminal operators, with penalties doubling for repeat violations.

Conclusion

The NPERA Act marks a genuine turning point for Nigeria’s port sector, replacing years of legal uncertainty over who actually regulates port economics with a clear, statutory framework backed by real enforcement power. For businesses operating in this space, the question is no longer whether economic regulation exists, but how quickly you adapt your registration, tariff filing, and compliance practices to this new, considerably higher-stakes regulatory environment.

If your business needs guidance on NPERA registration, tariff compliance, or navigating this new regulatory landscape, reach out to us via the contact details on our website www.bamandgadsolicitors.com.ng. We are here to help you stay ahead of these changes.

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