Apapa access road overloaded with 7,000 trucks daily – NPA

The Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Dr Abubakar Dantsoho, revealed that the Apapa access road, designed to handle around 2,400 trucks daily, currently transports over 7,000 trucks. Speaking at the African Ports Conference in Casablanca, Morocco, Dantsoho emphasized the negative impact of this congestion on port reliability and trade.

This surge in truck volume, he noted, has led to delays, increased congestion, and diverted trade. Dantsoho pointed out that ports previously experienced cargo delays of up to three weeks. The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) addressed these fundamental operational challenges before progressing to more advanced digital technologies.

The Eto electronic truck call-up system, among other reforms, has improved the situation. Dantsoho reported that Nigeria's performance in the World Bank's Container Port Performance Index 2025 positioned Tin Can Island Port at 10th and Apapa Port at 12th among the world's most improved ports. He also revealed a 24.8 percent increase in Nigeria's cargo throughput to 129.3 million metric tonnes in 2025.

However, Dantsoho stressed that Nigeria's port transformation is ongoing and called for robust digital infrastructure before expanding AI deployment in port operations. He underscored the importance of building cybersecurity considerations into infrastructure projects from the design stage. Dantsoho also highlighted the need for regional cooperation among African ports, proposing four priorities: sharing cyber threat intelligence, developing common data standards, benchmarking port performance, and improving professional training through regional collaboration.