The Cocoa Processors Association of Nigeria states exporters have actually lost in between N10 billion and N12 billion in additional expenses, hold-ups, defaults and added fees given that the brand-new treatment worked in February 2026.
Felix Oladunjoye, chairman of the association, stated the modification has actually turned a 24-hour export procedure into a five-to-six-day wait, requiring exporters to miss out on shipping schedules, lose agreements and pay charges.
Speaking at an interview in Lagos on Tuesday, Oladunjoye contacted us to notify the federal government on the blockage at the Lagos port passage and to require immediate intervention.
Automation reversed
The federal government presented an electronic platform in 2020 to fast-track exports, develop a one-stop point for exporters and make Nigerian exporters competitive, Oladunjoye stated. About 5 personal business were designated to assist in automation.
In between 2020 and January 2026, an exporter might publish info, pay on the platform and get an export load into the terminal within 24 hours, he stated.
That altered in February 2026, when the NPA made itself the last approver. After submitting export info and paying, terminal operators need to now wait on NPA approval before a gate pass can be provided to confess the export, he kept in mind.
“What NPA was doing is to revive the traffic jams that remained in the procedure previously, producing manual approval,” Oladunjoye stated.
Read likewise: https://businessday.ng/real-sector/article/lcci-proposes-port-corridor-coordination-to-ease-apapa-tin-can-gridlock/
He stated the NPA presented the system without seeking advice from export stakeholders and without description. The automation that was developed to eliminate numerous representatives, manual processing and corruption is now being beat by the very same handbook procedure it was implied to change, he stated.
The NPA did not right away react to an ask for remark.
500 trucks, 15 confessed
Oladunjoye stated approximately 500 export-loaded trucks are parked daily around the Lagos ports, in Tin Can and Apapa. About 90 percent of export terminals are based in Tin Can Island, in between the PTML terminal, the 2nd gate and Tin Can Island.
The NPA now restricts the variety of export-loaded trucks it confesses each day, he stated. While 300 to 500 trucks might be filled for the port, just about 15 are offered tickets to gate in every day. The rest stay in line, developing blockage.
“When 300 trucks or 500 are packed to the port, and just 15 are being provided tickets to gate in, the rest will remain in the line, which’s where the blockage originates from,” Oladunjoye stated.
The hold-up is rising deal expenses. Trucks required to wait try to find parking lot around the port passage and pay greatly. They burn more diesel moving around in search of parking, while exporters deal with demurrage, renomination charges from shipping lines and greater funding expenses as trade cycles extend.
Read likewise: https://businessday.ng/real-sector/article/manufacturers-seek-tax-rebates-digital-portal-to-boost-local-sourcing/
“You need to mobilise; you need to fast-track to offer you top priority to gate in,” Oladunjoye stated. “They’ve produced those synthetic issues to obtain cash from exporters.”
He stated exporters who miss their shipping window go through charges, while the targeted purchaser might cancel the agreement. The outcome is uncompetitive Nigerian exports and lowered forex revenues for the federal government.
Non-oil exports at threat
Oladunjoye stated the interruption threatens Nigeria’s diversity drive. Non-oil exports are essential to making forex and lowering reliance on oil.
He mentioned recorded non-oil exports of $2.2 billion in 2020, increasing 55.8 percent to $3.45 billion in 2021 and 39.9 percent to $4.8 billion in 2022. Exports fell 6.3 percent to $4.5 billion in 2023 in the middle of lower international costs and war, before recuperating to $5.45 billion in 2024.
Cocoa alone contributes more than 30 percent of non-oil exports, he stated, making the port hold-ups especially harming for cocoa processors and other non-oil exporters.
The association has actually composed to the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy and the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment in Abuja to grumble and look for intervention. Oladunjoye stated journalism conference was a follow-up to accelerate action.
“We require to call the Nigerian Ports Authority management,” he stated. “Things are not working. You can go to the port yourself and validate.”
He stated the port reform was indicated to drive export assistance, minimize expenses and eliminate corruption from the system. The present treatment, he argued, does the opposite.
“We are progressing in line with the federal government’s Renewed Hope program, however non-oil exports are extremely crucial to the diversity of Nigeria’s oil economy,” Oladunjoye stated. “The agreement exists, the fruit and vegetables exists, however the NPA has actually developed a major issue.”
Nigeria’s cocoa maincrop season has actually begun, and big volumes will be exported from now through April.
Josephine Okojie-Okeiyi
Josephine Okojie-Okeiyi is a reporter with over 5 years’ reporting experience. She composes on market, farming, products, environment modification, and ecological concerns. She is fellow of Thomson Reuters Foundation and Bloomberg Media Initiative for Africa.
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