The presidential infrastructure development fund and the development of seaport infrastructure in Nigeria, 2019-2023

This study assessed the impact of the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) on the development of port infrastructure in Nigeria, with a specific focus on seaport infrastructure. Extant analyses on the provision of seaport infrastructure in Nigeria revolve around exclusive reliance on the neoliberal framework and nationalization policy in the provision of maritime infrastructure. Drawing on the ex-post-facto design, this study argues that the inclusion of the PIDF into the transportation sector, with a special emphasis on public-private partnerships, is a catalyst for the revitalization of critical seaport infrastructure in Nigeria. Using the aid of the theoretical frame of infrastructural development, the study found that PIDF is instrumental in the decongestion of Nigeria’s seaports through the building of the Lekki Port and Inland Dry ports and several Inland container depots in Nigeria. The public policy implication of this is that the federal government of Nigeria should sustain its intervention in the seaport infrastructure, given its strategic importance to the national economy.