The Sea Empowerment and Research Centre (SEREC) has recommended stronger financial transparency to improve accountability and ease of doing business in Nigeria’s maritime sector.

SEREC’s Head of Research, Eugene Nweke, said in Abuja on Tuesday that the call was part of recommendations in the centre’s research white paper.

Mr Nweke said that the paper is titled “Show Us the Books: Financial Transparency, Public Enterprise Accountability and the Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria’s Maritime Ecosystem.”

He said public financial information should enable stakeholders to trace revenue from collection through expenditure, assets and economic outcomes.

He emphasised that accountability should cover revenue, expenditure, procurement, borrowing, assets, audits and performance, saying, “Public money must leave a public accountability trail.”

He stated the proposal was not an allegation against any agency or management but a governance principle aimed at strengthening institutional credibility and public confidence.

He added that legitimacy does not eliminate accountability, emphasising that the public should understand the financial architecture behind major public decisions.

Mr Nweke said the maritime ecosystem was particularly important because public institutions influence the cost, speed, safety and predictability of trade.

He said the ecosystem involved institutions including the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigeria Ports Economic Regulatory Agency (NPERA) and Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).

“An importer does not experience NPA cost in isolation, nor Customs cost, Standard Organisation of Nigeria cost or National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control cost in isolation,” he said.

He said port users ultimately experienced the total cost of moving cargo through Nigeria, making it necessary for accountability to follow the maritime value chain.

Mr Nweke recommended a Maritime Public-Enterprise Financial Transparency Framework, integrating revenue, budgeting, procurement, expenditure, projects, assets, borrowing, debt servicing, audits and performance.

He proposed monthly disclosure of revenue and major expenditure, quarterly publication of budget performance and borrowing obligations and annual publication of audited financial statements.

Mr Nweke also recommended a “One Port, One Accountability Statement” covering port revenue, cargo throughput, infrastructure expenditure, productivity, dwell time and cargo clearance.

“This would finally connect port money with port performance,” he said.

He urged NPERA to make financial transparency central to port economic regulation and develop a National Port Cost Index, showing the financial burden of moving cargo.

“Financial transparency is not merely an accounting issue; it is an economic competitiveness issue,” Mr Nweke said.

He said predictable financial information would reduce uncertainty, improve commercial planning and strengthen investor confidence, supporting the federal government’s Ease of Doing Business agenda.

On borrowing, Mr Nweke recommended that major maritime loans should pass tests of necessity, affordability, productivity and transparency.

The SEREC official also recommended structured disclosure of major concessions involving public maritime assets, including fees, investment obligations, revenue-sharing arrangements and performance benchmarks.

Mr Nweke further proposed a Maritime Public Finance Observatory, involving government, academia, industry stakeholders, civil society, researchers and the media.

According to him, better access to primary financial records will strengthen journalism and research while reducing dependence on leaks, speculation and fragmented information.

“A government that publishes its books does not weaken the press. It gives the press better evidence with which to hold the government accountable,” he said.

Ms Nweke stated that Nigeria already had public financial accountability mechanisms, adding that the priority should be their consistent implementation, integration and accessibility.

“The urgent task is to enforce it consistently, connect it across the maritime ecosystem and make the resulting information accessible, intelligible and verifiable,” he said.

He urged maritime institutions to move from “Trust us” to “Verify us,” saying, “Every accountable public naira should have a traceable financial record.” 

(NAN)