The $1.5 billion Lekki Deep Seaport has made Nigeria a maritime hub in West and Central Africa, as it began international transhipment to Togo, Benin Republic, Abidjan, and Ghana. This is even as the port initiated efforts to ramp up operations from 287,000 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) handled in 2024 to 500,000 TEUs by the end of 2025 and received 12 vessels every month.
Speaking to journalists on Thursday, July 10, 2025, in Lagos, the Deputy Chief Operating Officer of the Port, Mr Daniel Odibe, said the port is still targeting more international transhipment with other West African countries.
He attributed the shortfall to prevailing economic challenges that have impacted the port’s operations in recent times.
According to him, the removal of fuel subsidies and the depreciation of the Naira against major foreign currencies have led to a decline in imports.
However, he noted that cargo volumes are now gradually improving as it processed 222,000 TEUs between January and June 2025.
He also noted that transhipment activities to ports in neighbouring and landlocked countries have similarly increased. He said: “Lekki Port currently receives between 10-12 vessels every month, and Lekki Port transhipment operations have also increased substantially.
“Lekki Port is currently doing international transhipment to Togo, Benin Republic, Ghana, and Abidjan, and some landlocked countries. We are picking up because the Naira is gradually picking up.
“Volumes fell because of Naira depreciation and the removal of the subsidy, and this caused a setback in our projection. As of 2023, when we started operations, we did 54,289 TEUs, and as of June of this year, we have done 222,000, and we are projecting 500,000 TEUs,” he added.
According to him, the vessel turnaround time at Lekki Port currently stands at 48 hours as against one hour and 25 minutes for truck turnaround time, while cargo dwell time is 16 days.