The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has warned that Nigeria’s drive towards smart and digitally driven ports will not deliver the desired transformation without a maritime workforce equipped with the skills to operate emerging technologies.
Managing Director of the NPA, Dr Abubakar Dantsoho, represented by the Port Manager, Lagos Port Complex, Apapa, Adebowale Ibrahim, gave the warning in a goodwill message at the 2026 Maritime Training Summit of the Association of Maritime Journalists of Nigeria (AMJON) in Lagos, on the theme, “The Power of Innovation in a Future-Ready Maritime Training Agenda.”
Dantsoho said the maritime industry was undergoing profound transformation driven by digitalisation, artificial intelligence, automation, robotics and data-driven logistics systems, making continuous investment in human capital imperative.
According to him, innovation is no longer merely a concept for the NPA but has become central to the Authority’s efforts to improve efficiency, transparency, safety and service delivery.
He cited the Electronic Call-Up System (ETO), Electronic Access Control, digital revenue systems, vessel management platforms and the ongoing development of the Port Community System as some of the initiatives through which the NPA is moving towards a more integrated and digitally driven port environment.
He added that the Authority was also aligning its processes with the National Single Window to facilitate greater integration and electronic exchange of information among maritime stakeholders.
However, Dantsoho stressed that the effectiveness of these technologies would depend largely on the people operating them.
“Technology without the right people will not deliver the desired transformation,” he said.
He said this made capacity development central to Nigeria’s maritime innovation agenda, noting that the NPA had invested in human-capital development through its training infrastructure, including the Port Training Institute and simulation facilities.
Dantsoho urged stakeholders to rethink the country’s maritime training framework to produce professionals who are not only technically competent but also innovative, adaptable and digitally literate.
He said future training programmes must prepare maritime professionals for emerging areas such as smart ports, autonomous and increasingly connected ships, cybersecurity, green shipping and data-driven decision-making.
The NPA managing director commended AMJON for bringing the issue of innovation and maritime training to the forefront, saying the summit provided an opportunity for government, industry players and training institutions to rethink how Nigeria could develop the human capital required to make its maritime sector globally competitive.
He noted that innovation went beyond machines and technology, stressing that it was also about people, ideas and the courage to improve existing processes.
Dantsoho said investment in the right skills today would produce a maritime workforce capable of driving safer, smarter, greener and more efficient port and maritime operations.
“The future is already here. Our responsibility is to ensure that Nigeria is ready—and that our people are leading the way,” he said.
