… Local Value Addition Gap Costs $20bn Yearly
…$8bn Lost Through Under-Valuation, Fraud
…Manual Processes, Poor Monitoring Indicted
Daud Olatunji
Nigeria is losing over $10bn annually due to deep-rooted inefficiencies in its export systems and maritime governance, a new report has revealed, raising fresh concerns over the country’s dwindling foreign exchange earnings and weak industrial base.
The report by the Sea Empowerment and Research Centre (SEREC) urged urgent reforms, warning that systemic failures, policy inconsistencies and entrenched interests have turned the nation’s export corridors into channels for capital flight.
Titled “Port of Plenty, Pipelines of Loss: A National Reawakening Call on Maritime-enabled Resource Leakages,” the report, signed by SEREC’s Head of Research, Eugene Nweke, painted a grim picture of Nigeria’s maritime sector, describing it as a weak link in the country’s economic architecture.
According to the document, Nigeria’s ports; originally designed to drive trade and economic growth; are increasingly facilitating untracked resource extraction and revenue losses.
Despite handling over 1.5 billion metric tonnes of cargo annually, including crude oil shipments, non-oil exports account for less than 10 per cent of total export earnings, underscoring the country’s low value addition capacity.
The report identified trade mis-invoicing and under-valuation as major culprits, estimating that between $5bn and $8bn is lost yearly through under-declaration, poor documentation and misclassification of exports, particularly in the solid minerals sector.
It further noted that Nigeria continues to export raw materials such as iron ore, gypsum and crude oil at low value, while importing refined petroleum products and finished goods at significantly higher costs—a trend it said perpetuates economic imbalance.
SEREC warned that the absence of local processing and industrial capacity is costing the country between $15bn and $20bn annually in missed economic opportunities.
The report added that the situation is exacerbated by weak institutional oversight, opaque trade agreements with foreign partners and vulnerabilities linked to resource-backed financing arrangements.
It also flagged structural deficiencies within port operations, including fragmented digital systems among port authorities, customs and shipping agencies, lack of real-time cargo tracking and overreliance on manual processes.
“These inefficiencies weaken foreign exchange inflows, distort trade data and deprive the government of critical revenue for national development,” the report stated.
SEREC described Nigeria’s ports as “dual-purpose corridors” that enable the export of raw resources and import of refined goods, reinforcing trade imbalances, industrial stagnation and rising cost of living.
The organisation called for sweeping reforms, including stronger regulatory oversight, full digital integration of maritime operations and deliberate policies to promote local value addition.
It warned that failure to act decisively could further deepen economic losses and undermine Nigeria’s long-term growth prospects.
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