Logistics leaders and policymakers on Friday urged the Federal Government to harness Nigeria’s $60 billion logistics sector to drive wealth creation and job growth.
They made the call in Lagos at the CLMI International Conference and Investiture 2025, where speakers stressed the underutilized role of courier, logistics, transport and supply management in national development.
Prof. Simon Emeje, Chairman of the Courier and Logistics Management Institute (CLMI), said research showed the industry held immense potential if given proper regulatory support and government backing.
“This is an industry with a global capacity of not less than $60 billion in market value. In Nigeria, we have a market value of not less than N3.5 trillion, which is around $60 billion today,” he said in his welcome address.
Emeje noted that a fully optimized logistics sector could generate “not less than 50 per cent of the annual budget of any country, including Nigeria.”
He lamented that many logistics firms had collapsed due to poor operating conditions and a weak regulatory framework that merged regulation with operations — an arrangement he described as “not professionally acceptable.”
He called for urgent reforms in government policies guiding the sector.
Emeje added that recent U.S. tariffs on AGOA products should encourage African nations to look inward and strengthen local value creation. He also highlighted the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) as a major opportunity for intra-African expansion and industry growth.
Chairman of the occasion, Sen. Aliyu Bilbis, said logistics had become the backbone of Nigeria’s industrial development and job-creation prospects.
He said the sector was worth about N25 trillion and contributed at least 4.5 per cent to national GDP.
Bilbis added that logistics, trade and distribution were being reshaped by digital tools that improved productivity and delivery efficiency. He urged government to prioritize the sector because of its central role in enterprise development and national security.
Delivering the keynote address, Sen. Adebayo Adeyeye, Chairman of the Nigeria Port Authority (NPA), said over 80 per cent of Nigeria’s international trade remained maritime-based.
Adeyeye, represented by Mr Bosun Oladele, a director at the NPA, said logistics had become “the new frontier of wealth creation and national competitiveness.”
He said entrepreneurs were powering the logistics ecosystem, while the NPA was driving port digitization and e-Customs integration to reduce delays.
He listed infrastructure modernization, improved access routes and deeper channels for larger vessels as key priorities under ongoing sector reforms. Adeyeye also emphasized the need for wider public-private partnerships to boost logistics capacity beyond coastal ports.
He urged banks to design specialized financing products for the maritime and logistics sectors and called on universities to strengthen logistics education.
The conference also featured the convocation of PhD graduates in logistics from Paul’s Greek University, reflecting CLMI’s push to professionalize the industry.
Key business figures, including Mr Alishan Abari of the Indonesian-Nigeria Chamber of Commerce, pledged full support for the sector’s professionalization efforts.
Closing the event, Mr Okey Uba, President of the Association of Nigeria Courier and Logistics Operators, called for sustained advocacy for an independent logistics regulator, noting that the push had been ongoing for many years.
