During December, 79 vessels were reported awaiting berths at either container or oil terminals in Lagos, because of the backlog.
The Bureau of Public Enterprises blames the congestion not on terminal operators, but on the large number of government agencies involved.
Shipping agencies have also been singled out for blame, given their inability to clear many containers.
Late last year, APM Terminals introduced an end of year amnesty on long-term stored boxes at its Apapa container terminal in order to clear containers. This reportedly cost the company $10.4m.