The Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) has been instructed by the Federal Government to look into claims that local barge operators are being marginalized throughout the nation.
The purpose of this regulation is to resolve complaints made by local barge operators about their unfair treatment and exclusion from the nation’s maritime sector.
Concerns regarding the situation’s effects on Nigeria’s economy and the livelihoods of individuals working in the sector have arisen.
According to a Daily Trust article, local barge operators at Apapa Port are claiming they are being marginalized and are being forced out of business by foreign interests.
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In particular, certain major port operators were accused by the Barge Operators Association of Nigeria (BOAN) of refusing them berthing windows while favoring international shipping companies.
Inland waterway operations were reserved for native shipowners under the Cabotage Act.
Dr. Adegboyega Oyetola, the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, instructed the Nigerian Shippers’ Council to look into claims of systematic attempts to undermine local barge operators at the country’s seaports while speaking at the first quarter 2026 senior management retreat and stakeholder engagements held in Lagos over the weekend.
Barge operators’ representatives claimed during the engagement that some foreign interests were making a concerted effort to drive them out of business. They asserted that these acts might seriously impair local capacity and upset the equilibrium of competition in Nigeria’s maritime logistics chain if they are allowed to continue.
The operators voiced worry that an unfair playing field is being created by policies, operational bottlenecks, and claimed preferential treatment given by some terminal operators to select foreign-linked firms.
They claim that these difficulties are progressively reducing their market share and endangering the existence of local companies.
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