Nigeria’s seaports handled 129.3 million metric tonnes of cargo in 2025, but traffic around Lagos’ Apapa port can disrupt exports, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) deputy chairman Ikenna Nwosu told BusinessDay, saying exporters can miss scheduled sailings.
The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) recorded a 24.8% increase in national cargo volumes from 103.6 million tonnes in 2024. Exports made up 39% of the 2025 total, while inward cargo accounted for 59.2% and transshipment for 1.8%. In the second quarter of 2026, ports handled 35.7 million tonnes, up 12.3% from a year earlier. Outward cargo grew 22% year over year and represented 41.9% of the quarter’s total, NPA figures show.
At the African Ports Conference in Casablanca on Oct. 19-21, NPA Managing Director Abubakar Dantsoho said Apapa’s access road was handling more than 7,000 trucks per day. He compared that count with a daily design capacity of about 2,400. The remarks were reported by The Punch and BusinessDay.
Nwosu told BusinessDay that exporters bringing goods to Lagos from elsewhere can miss vessel departures because of traffic. He said cargo already loaded at the ports can take almost 24 hours to leave. BusinessDay also reported that truck owners face added expenses and operational strain from delays.
LCCI Freight Forwarders and Trade Group Chairman Las Alli-Shobande estimated that Apapa and Tin Can Island generated about ₦4.6 trillion in customs revenue in 2025, BusinessDay reported. Nigeria Customs Service publications put Apapa’s total at ₦2.93 trillion and Tin Can Island’s at a rounded ₦1.6 trillion. Those command figures add to roughly ₦4.5 trillion; the agency’s publications give no combined total.
A separate World Bank measure shows improvement in vessel performance. Its 2025 Container Port Performance Index annex ranked Tin Can Island 10th and Lagos Port (Apapa) 12th among ports with the greatest improvement from 2020 to 2025. The index tracks the time container ships spend in port, so it does not directly assess queues on access roads.
The NPA says the National Single Window went live in the first quarter of 2026, and completing the Port Community System remains on its agenda. BusinessDay reported that LCCI has also proposed a port-corridor coordination system, measures to track cargo, vessel and truck delays, and greater use of rail and barge transport.
