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The Lagos State Government’s criticism of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) for shifting operational focus from the overstretched Lagos ports to the Warri Port Complex is not just misguided, it is the loud, grating cry of a political and bureaucratic elite who, in Shakespeare’s words, are “sick of self-love.” It is a parochial reflex, a tantrum disguised as policy, and a brazen attempt to preserve an inequitable economic order that has strangulated other regions while elevating Lagos into an overfed, congested city-state.

Let us call it what it is: a selfish, overbearing posture by a government too enamoured with its inflated sense of centrality and too unwilling to admit that Nigeria does not begin and end in Lagos. Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and his chorus of officials must be called out, firmly and unapologetically, for promoting a ports monopoly that has wrecked national logistics, punished importers across the federation, and left other strategic ports in a state of coma.

The Lagos Ports Are Choking—Yet Lagos Wants More?

The congestion in Lagos is not news. It is a crisis. The roads are broken, the queues are endless, Apapa is a permanent traffic graveyard, and businesses waste billions in demurrage and delays. Yet, somehow, Lagos still insists that all major import traffic must be funneled through its already suffocating system.

Why? The answer is simple: economic hegemony and a refusal to allow anyone else breathe.

Instead of welcoming the opportunity to decongest its collapsing infrastructure, Lagos chooses to attack the NPA for daring to do the sensible thing: diversify port operations to Warri, Sapele, Koko, Burutu, and even the underused port in Cross River State.

Lagos Cannot Continue to Smother Other State Economies

What exactly is Lagos afraid of? That Warri Port will rise again? That the South-South will gain economic momentum? That the South-East will finally have a closer gateway for its massive import economy?

For years, Delta ports have been abandoned, unjustifiably. Revenues that should flow through Warri or Sapele are instead trapped by Lagos’ stranglehold. It is immoral, uneconomic, and deeply unpatriotic for Lagos State to insist that the entire logistics bloodstream of Nigeria must continue to pump only through its arteries.

A Hypocrisy Too Loud to Ignore

There is something even more sinister in Lagos’ stance: the growing hostility toward non-Yoruba residents, a trend too obvious to be denied. The city’s political messaging has increasingly tilted toward exclusion, discrimination, and subtle economic fencing-off of communities considered “outsiders.” Yet, in the same breath, the state wants these same Nigerians, whom it is subtly nudging out, to continue importing their goods through Lagos, paying levies to Lagos, enriching Lagos, enduring Lagos’ chaos. You drive them out, then demand they bring their wealth back to you? This is not just petty, it is the very height of narrow-mindedness.

NPA’s Decision Is Not Only Right—It Is Strategic

We at BannerOnlineNews stand firmly with the Nigerian Ports Authority. This shift in operational focus to Warri is not merely administrative, it is the beginning of a long-overdue economic rebalancing.

Warri’s strategic location makes it ideal for importers from the South-East, South-South, and the Middle Belt. The Delta State Government understood this when it took on the Herculean responsibility of reconstructing the Warri–Asaba Federal Highway, creating a fast, smooth corridor from port to market.

With a functional Warri Port, businesses in Onitsha, Asaba, Enugu, Agbor, Benin, Port Harcourt, Makurdi and beyond, gain proximity, speed, and cost efficiency that Lagos can no longer guarantee.

For Once, Let Nigeria Breathe

This country cannot become a one-port republic simply because Lagos demands it.

The Warri Port deserves revival. The Sapele Port deserves activity. The Koko Port deserves vessels. The Burutu Port deserves cargo. And Calabar deserves more than token attention.

Nigeria’s economy must be decentralised if it is to grow, and the NPA’s decision is a bold step toward that goal.

Our Final Word

Lagos must not, and cannot be allowed to bully the nation into economic stagnation. The NPA has done the right thing. The fair thing. The strategic thing.

We at BannerOnlineNews say: let Warri Port rise. Let Delta Ports breathe again. And let the era of Lagos’ monopolistic arrogance finally come to an end.