Business
Customs, agents disagree over National Single Window operations
By Godwin Oritse & Efe Onodjae
There are indications of festering disagreements over the implementation of the National Single Window (NSW), a centralized digital portal launched by the Federal Government in March this year to address delays in import-export processing at the ports.
It allows importers and exporters to submit trade documents once, replacing duplicate paperwork across multiple agencies.
President of the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA), Lucky Amiwero, told Vanguard that the system is not operating as envisaged, urging the government to hand over the implementation to the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
But Customs itself is saying there is no problem with the system presently, adding that it has recorded some early successes.
However, Amiwero said the current arrangement has failed to simplify trade documentation and cargo clearance, contrary to the objectives of a Single Window system.
“Instead of a single window, what we have are multiple windows that are complicating the process for importers and clearing agents,” he said.
He dismissed reports that the project had entered a second phase, insisting that challenges identified during the initial phase remained unresolved.
According to him, the NCS has the legal mandate, operational platform and technical expertise required to implement the project under the Customs Act.
Amiwero also disagreed with the plans for electronic transmission of cargo manifests outside the Customs framework, insisting that manifest administration is a statutory responsibility of the NCS.
He urged the government to harmonise all trade documentation on a single Customs platform instead of creating multiple systems that duplicate functions.
The freight forwarder further expressed concern over persistent cargo clearance delays, saying they continue to increase demurrage and other port charges borne by importers.
Meanwhile, the NCS has said that the NSW platform has enhanced trade facilitation, improved efficiency in goods clearing and Nigeria’s competitiveness in international trade.
Also the Customs, in collaboration with the National Single Window (NSW) Secretariat, has commenced stakeholder sensitisation on submission of electronic vessel manifest as implementation of the next phase of the NSW gathers momentum.
Addressing the stakeholders, Deputy Comptroller-General in charge of ICT/Modernisation, Oluyomi Adebakin, said the exercise builds on consultations held before and after the launch of Phase One of the NSW on March 27, 2026.
She described the NSW platform as a globally accepted trade facilitation tool that would improve efficiency, transparency and Nigeria’s competitiveness in international trade.
“Since the introduction of the National Single Window, the country has begun to experience its benefits. Nigeria’s standing in international trade is improving,” she said. Adebakin stressed that electronic manifest submission would not alter Customs’ statutory responsibilities but would simply provide a faster and more transparent method of processing documents.
She added that the platform would enhance trade facilitation, improve data integrity and strengthen anti-smuggling efforts.
National Coordinator of the National Single Window Project, Tola Fakolade, commended the NCS for supporting implementation of the initiative.
He disclosed that the platform has so far issued over 100,000 licences and permits while registering more than 1,000 users, describing the progress as a significant milestone in Nigeria’s trade modernisation programme.