By Faustino Babatunde, PhD
Dr. Akutah Pius Ukeyima’s first year at the helm of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NCS) has been a journey of transformation, resilience and visionary reform aimed at turning a beleaguered agency into a powerhouse of Nigeria’s maritime economy. Appointed Executive Secretary and CEO in November 2023, Dr. Akutah walked into an agency crippled by neglect, financial strife and outdated legal frameworks. Yet within a year, his leadership has ignited new hope for the sector’s future, driven by an ambitious push for infrastructure revitalization, legal reform and cutting-edge trade facilitation.
Upon assuming office, Dr. Akutah encountered an empty treasury and a demoralized workforce submerged in unpaid wages and poor working conditions. In his words: “when I came in, the work environment was anything but conducive. You could sense poverty everywhere; people were not well treated,” he recalls. With the arrival of the first allocation in December, Dr. Akutah quickly cleared salary arrears and staff welfare debts, setting a foundation of renewed morale despite bureaucratic hurdles like the year-end account closures that wiped out initial funds. Recognizing that the physical state of the agency reflected its operational challenges, he prioritized a complete overhaul of office facilities and commissioned structural tests for urgent renovations. All these efforts found solid backing in Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, whose unwavering support ensured critical funding and political will to push reforms through.
Albeit, Dr. Akutah’s most groundbreaking achievement lies in the legal landscape. For decades, the Nigerian Shippers Council operated under a restrictive 1978 decree that inadequately covered its expanded role as Nigeria’s ports economic regulator – a mandate imposed without proper legal foundation since 2014. Drawing on his prosecutorial background at Federal Ministry of Justice, Abuja, Dr. Akutah championed a new bill to repeal this outdated law and establish the Nigerian Port Economic Regulatory Agency, an empowered institution with the full authority to enforce regulations and stabilize the sector. The bill, in consensus with key maritime agencies, shepherded through the National Assembly, and awaits final presidential assent – a milestone that promises to redefine Nigeria’s maritime governance.
Integral to Nigeria’s future trade efficiency is the implementation of the International Cargo Tracking Note (ICTN), a sophisticated tool that guarantees cargo security, boosts revenue and simplifies customs processes. Dr. Akutah notes that previous attempts floundered amid struggles over perceived “free money” from the system, but now, under presidential endorsement, the council is rigorously reviewing proposals with hopes of launching ICTN by year-end. “Countries like Cameroon fund over 40% of their national budget from ICTN,” he points out, envisioning similar gains for Nigeria.
Another pillar of Dr. Akutah’s strategy, is infrastructure. This is against the backdrop that the council inherited nearly completed Inland Dry Ports (IDPs), such as Funtua, now fully operational and expanding the reach of maritime logistics beyond congested seaports like Apapa. These inland ports act as local shipping hubs, allowing cargo clearance and processing far from the coastal bottlenecks, significantly boosting trade fluidity and ease of doing business across Nigeria’s diverse regions. Complementary to this vision, Dr. Akutah emphasizes the critical role of efficient rail transport linking these IDPs to seaports, advocating for public-private partnerships to overcome the capital-intensive nature of infrastructure development. Looking ahead, Dr. Akutah calls on private sector investment as essential to unlocking the vast potential of Nigeria’s blue economy, underscoring the sector’s range from fishmongers to large-scale maritime ventures; and stressing that government’s role is to create an enabling environment for sustainable growth.
With over two years remaining in his tenure, Dr. Akutah’s focus remains clear: securing legal empowerment for the council’s new mandate, driving operational efficiency and positioning Nigeria as a thriving maritime hub ready to leverage the immense opportunities offered by the African Continental Free Trade Area. He envisions a future where stric,t yet fair regulations protect investors and stabilize the market, ensuring Nigeria’s ports and shipping sectors are competitive and prosperous in the global arena. In the words of Dr. Pius Akutah, the journey is just beginning, but the vision is firm: “For the next two years, my energy will be devoted to developing our agency’s potential to promote efficiencies that will make Nigeria’s maritime sector a powerhouse, ushering in lasting growth and economic stability.”
