By Francis Ugwoke

The Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) has invited all shipping lines and other stakeholders to a one day engagement session in its Apapa, Lagos office, on Tuesday, April 14.

The stakeholders will be meeting with the  Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the Council, Dr. Pius Akutah.

In a statement issued by the Council on Sunday, the notice for the Tuesday meeting was in respect of  the “directive issued on 20th March 2026, in response to the ongoing consultations and concerns raised by some key stakeholders within the maritime and logistics sector”.

 Part of the statement issued by the Council reads:

“In the spirit of fairness, transparency, and industrial harmony, the Council seeks to provide a platform for dialogue aimed at achieving consensus among all parties.

“The Council still remains steadfast in its commitment to fostering a cooperative environment that promotes sustainable growth, operational efficiency, and mutual trust across the sector. All parties are therefore urged to comply with this directive and participate actively and constructively in the dialogue”.

Sources said the reason for the meeting may not be unconnected with the    request by the multinational shipping lines to increase their charges, a development that has been opposed by freight forwarders.

It would be recalled that  the shipping lines  which had earlier introduced new shipping charges without approval were directed by the ports economic regulator to suspend the implementation.

The Council had threatened heavy sanction against  companies flouting its order  to suspend the implementation.

 Akutah  was  few weeks ago reported to have  said that there is the need for shipping service providers and consumers to have a robust dialogue before increase in shipping charges in the ports.

Specifically, Akutah said multinational shipping companies in Nigeria and freight forwarders  should be able to reach an agreement  on shipping charges by the service providers.

 The NSC CEO who spoke  to newsmen in Abeokuta where the Council held a retreat for the management staff said  shipping companies should have a dialogue with the freight forwarders to be able to address the current dispute between them    on   tariff hike.

According to him, both shipping companies and freight forwarders must have to shift their  different positions to be able to arrive at a beneficial agreement.

He said that whatever discussions between the two should guided by the spirit of compromise and mutual understanding.

 He explained that in the past, the Council as ports economic regulator  turned down the requests for an increase in charges for two years, adding that such request was not aimed at profit-making or to raise profit margins.

 Akutah further explained that as far as the Council is concerned a mutual engagement is significant for the sake of ensuring stability in the shipping sector and avoiding   operational  challenges in the ports.

The Tuesday  meeting which starts at 11am  is also speculated to be an opportunity for the Council to equally announce to the stakeholders  the implementation of the implementation of ICTN in Nigerian ports .

It would be recalled that the federal government had recently given the Council the approval to begin the implementation of ICTN in Nigerian ports  after some years of  bureaucratic bottlenecks.

Akutah while speaking at the   2026 First Quarter Citizens/Stakeholders’ Engagement, Sectoral Performance Review, and Ministerial Management Retreat in Lagos last week, told stakeholders that necessary steps for sustainable and smooth implementation have been taken.

Akutah gave an insight  on the progress made so far, explaining that Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA)  is responsible for  the deployment of  the Port Community System (PCS), while the ports economic regulator  has the mandate to ensure that efficiency and transparency are strengthened in the  industry.

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