Nigeria Bets on Badagry to Become West Africa’s Port of Call
_ How a new deep-seaport deal with APM Terminals could reshape trade, jobs, and growth _ By Lod Onyeji LAGOS — On September 7, 2026, in Copenhagen, Nigeria signed its most consequential port agreement in a decade. APM Terminals, the ports arm of A.P. Moller–Maersk, entered exclusive negotiations with Badagry Port Development Limited to develop the long-stalled Badagry Deep-Seaport. The MoU was witnessed by Nigeria’s Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr. Adegboyega Oyetola, who led a federal delegation to Denmark to court maritime investment. Signatories were APM Terminals Group CEO Vincent Clerc and Badagry Port Development MD Didi Ndiomu. It is a greenfield project. And in port economics, greenfield deepwater capacity is not just infrastructure. It is leverage. Nigeria’s two main container ports — Apapa and Onne — handled a combined ∼1.8 million TEUs in 2025, according to NPA data. Yet both are constrained: Apapa by urban congestion, draft limits, and aging access...
