The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) says it has simplified export procedures and deployed new processing terminals to integrate producers in Nigeria’s hinterland into global supply chains.
Speaking during the ‘NPA Special Day’ at the Kaduna international trade fair 2026, Abubakar Dantsoho, managing director of the authority, urged traders and investors to leverage the new export pathways introduced to reposition Nigeria as a competitive trading nation.
Dantsoho said the reforms are targeted at dismantling long-standing bureaucratic bottlenecks that discouraged participation in the export value chain.
“Let me seize the occasion of this ‘NPA Special Day’ to invite the entire trading and investing public to explore the tailor-made simplified export processes and other vistas of opportunity present at the Nigerian Ports Authority,” he said.
The managing director said a key pillar of the reform is the establishment of export process terminals (EPTs), structured as one-stop hubs for cargo consolidation, stuffing, packaging, documentation, certification, and electronic shipment scheduling.
According to the NPA chief, the EPTs are electronically integrated with port operations through the call-up system to ensure faster cargo evacuation, reduced congestion, and improved turnaround time.
“The export process terminals were conceptualised to simplify what used to be a burdensome export process. Today, exporters can complete documentation, packaging and shipment coordination in a seamless and efficient manner,” he said.
To deepen port-hinterland connectivity, Dantsoho said the NPA is working with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) and other partners to link the EPTs with Domestic Export Warehouses (DEWs), creating structured channels for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to access international markets.
“We are determined to link value creators in the remotest part of the hinterland with the farthest clusters of demand anywhere on the globe,” he said.
Dantsoho said the authority is advancing the implementation of the national single window (NSW) to automate port processes, describing it as a global best practice in trade facilitation.
“The national single window will deliver the greatest value with the greatest ease by enabling stakeholders to interact at the push of a button,” he said.
He described Kaduna as a strategic commercial hub and gateway to the northern hinterland and neighbouring landlocked countries, saying its location makes it central to Nigeria’s export expansion drive.
The managing director reaffirmed the authority’s commitment to partnerships aimed at strengthening domestic production and boosting non-oil exports as part of broader efforts to diversify the economy.
