The Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and President of the Port Management Association of West and Central Africa (PMAWCA), Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho, says three digital initiatives are helping lift Nigeria’s port performance: the Eto truck call-up system, the National Single Window and the Port Community System.

Speaking at the African Ports Conference (COPAF2026) in Casablanca, Morocco, Dantsoho said the initiatives contributed to a 24.8 per cent rise in Nigeria’s cargo throughput in 2025. He also pointed to strong World Bank Container Port Performance Index rankings for Tin Can Island Port and Apapa Port.

He argued that African ports should put effective digital foundations in place before deploying artificial intelligence. AI, he said, can support vessel planning, landside coordination, revenue assurance, security and predictive maintenance — but only once the basics are working.

Dantsoho said smart ports should be judged by concrete results rather than technology purchases: faster vessel turnaround times, shorter cargo dwell times, lower costs, reliable systems and proper revenue accounting.

He also cited Nigeria’s $1 billion Lagos ports modernisation programme as part of wider efforts to improve port infrastructure, efficiency and competitiveness.

The conference was themed “Smart African Port: Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity for Performance.” Dantsoho was joined by the Secretary-General of the Association of African Ports Authorities (AGPAOC), the Director-General of the Port of Sierra Leone, the Director-General of the Centre de Recherche et de Formation (CRF), and other industry leaders to discuss how AI and cybersecurity can improve port performance across Africa.