Port Profiteering Unmasked As EFCC Targets Stevedores In $150m Royalty Scandal

BY GBOGBOWA GBOWA

A decade-long silence has been shattered as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is now circling stevedoring firms operating in Nigeria’s oil and gas terminals, following explosive revelations of royalty evasion amounting to tens of millions of dollars.

Sources reveal that since securing contracts nearly ten years ago, these firms—servicing International Oil Companies (IOCs) have raked in between $1.2 to $1.5 million monthly, yet failed to remit the 20–30% royalty owed to the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA); estimated at over $150 million in unaccounted public revenue.

Irrespective of the staggering financial malfeasance, Pinnacle Time report that insiders at NPA suggest enforcement was deliberately stalled due to the firms’ ties to powerful political figures; which has been the major driver of unaccountability, robbing the country blind and keeping it on its knee.

It is a system where influence trumps accountability, and national revenue is siphoned off under the guise of legitimate operations.

Reports indicate that the seeming wake-up call followed an anonymous petition to EFCC which triggered the investigation, forcing NPA to finally act. In March 2025, the Authority summoned all stevedoring firms to a long-overdue operational review—the first of such meeting since their contracts began, sources squealed.

The accountability letter believed to have been signed by NPA’s Executive Director of Marine & Operations, Olalekan Badmus, demanded the following:

*Submission of monthly reports from inception

*Verification of contracts and appointment letters

*Disclosure of royalty payments, equipment supply, and service records

*Discussion of operational challenges and extra services

*Harmonization of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

It is instructive that this scandal isn’t just about missing royalties, it is a symptom of a deeper rot. When regulatory bodies are muzzled by political interference, national infrastructure becomes a playground for profiteers. Analysts say that the port industry vital to Nigeria’s economy risks becoming a shadow market where contracts currency and oversight is optional.