The Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Dr Abubakar Dantsoho, has announced that the agency has developed a port performance benchmarking framework in collaboration with the Port of Antwerp-Bruges.
In a recent statement, Dantsoho said the NPA was willing to share its experience with other ports across Africa.
“The NPA had developed a port performance benchmarking framework in collaboration with the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, and I want to express NPA’s readiness to share the experience with other African ports,” he said.
He added that the port had also engaged in deeper discussions with technology suppliers and development partners to establish common requirements covering cybersecurity, interoperability, skills transfer and data sovereignty.
Dantsoho, who is also the President of the Port Management Association of West and Central Africa, proposed the establishment of a PMAWCA working group on artificial intelligence and data governance, with cybersecurity and digital resilience incorporated into its responsibilities.
He called on each member port to identify one high-impact AI pilot project supported by a baseline assessment, an accountable implementation team and measurable performance targets.
“I invite each member port to identify one high-impact AI pilot, with a baseline, an accountable team and a measurable target. Start with the problem—not the product,” he said.
Dantsoho said progress on the proposed initiatives should be reported at PMAWCA’s next Annual Council in Sipopo, Malabo, while assuring member ports that the NPA was prepared to share both its successes and the challenges encountered in Nigeria’s digital transformation.
He further warned that the deployment of AI and interconnected digital platforms would require clear rules governing the ownership, access, sharing and protection of port data.
He noted port authorities must establish responsibilities for data management under concession agreements and ensure that technology contracts promote interoperability rather than create unnecessary dependence on individual suppliers.
According to him, African countries must be able to benefit from technological innovation while retaining the capacity to determine how their data is accessed, managed and protected.
“Data sovereignty does not mean isolation. It means benefiting from innovation while retaining the capacity to govern its use,” he said.
He added that trust was essential to effective information sharing among port authorities, regulators, terminal operators and other stakeholders.
“Without trust, institutions will not share information. Without shared information, the smart port remains an incomplete promise,” he said.
Dantsoho said the ultimate objective of port digitalisation across Africa should be to improve operational reliability, reduce the cost of trade, strengthen security and ensure that technological investments deliver measurable economic benefits.
“The smart African port will not be judged by its dashboards. It will be judged by reliable vessel calls, shorter cargo dwell times, lower costs, secure systems and revenue properly accounted for. AI should help us anticipate and decide. Cybersecurity should help us protect and endure. Cooperation should help us advance together. Leadership must turn all three into results,” he said.
He urged African port authorities to work collectively towards building facilities that were not only more digital but also more dependable and secure, stressing that the continent’s smart-port future would require regional collaboration and the development of local capabilities.
“The smart African port will not be imported. We will build it together,” Dantsoho said.