A comprehensive investigation into Nigeria’s seaport ecosystem has found that a systemic culture of corruption and deliberate obstruction has created a parallel economy of port facilitation costing Nigerian importers an estimated N4 trillion annually.
Goods that should clear customs in 24 hours routinely take between 21 and 45 days. The delays are not accidental.
Our investigation found coordinated practices including deliberate misfiling of declarations to trigger assessments and parking of cleared containers to generate demurrage fees.
We calculated that if Nigerian ports performed at the average efficiency of comparable African peers, the saving to the economy would be equivalent to 0.8 percent of GDP annually.
