FG to implement National Single Window, targets faster cargo clearance by 2026
The Federal Government is fast-tracking efforts to implement the National Single Window (NSW) system across Nigeria’s ports by 2026 to improve efficiency, reduce human interference, and deepen transparency in cargo processing.
Vice President, Sen. Kashim Shettima, who disclosed this at the second meeting of the Ports and Customs Efficiency Committee at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said the initiative was expected to reduce average cargo clearance time from 21 days to fewer than seven days, and place Nigerian ports among the top three most efficient trade gateways in Africa.
“The forthcoming implementation of the NSW in the first quarter of next year will be a game-changer, a single platform that harmonises documentation, minimises human contact and brings full transparency to the cargo clearance process,” he averred.
Shettima also directed agencies, including the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), to develop a roadmap for strengthening Nigeria’s weights and measures framework.
The weights and measures system ensures that measurement tools used in trade are accurate, safeguarding consumers from fraud and ensuring conformity with global standards.
Shettima, who lamented the state of port operations, noted that cargo dwell time in Nigeria averages between 18 and 21 days, compared to five to seven days in Ghana and just four days in Cotonou, Benin Republic.
“The cost of clearing goods in Nigeria is estimated to be 30 per cent higher than in many of our regional peers. Our ports record cargo dwell times 475 per cent above the global benchmark.
“These inefficiencies are not just statistics; they are symptoms of an economic ailment that costs us investments, drives up consumer prices, and weakens our export competitiveness,” Shettima said.
The Vice President explained that the proposed Executive Order on Joint Physical Inspection, before President Bola Tinubu, “is one of the boldest steps towards reversing the trend,” enhancing predictability, transparency and speed at the ports.
According to him, “The era of siloed operations must end. Inter-agency rivalry must give way to inter-agency synergy. We are only as efficient as our collaboration allows, and our success will depend not only on what we do individually, but on what we achieve together.”
Earlier, the Director-General of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), Zahrah Audu, underscored the impact of port inefficiencies on Nigeria’s Ease of Doing Business (EoDB), urging a united resolve to streamline operations and accelerate cargo clearance.
She admitted the progress recorded by the Efficiency Committee, describing it as a platform advancing inter-agency cooperation and a shared commitment to ensure Nigerian ports were globally competitive, transparent and efficient.
In the same vein, the Managing Director of NPA, Dr Abubakar Dantsoho, highlighted the importance of partnership in revitalising the port ecosystem.
Dantsoho hinted that the Ports Efficiency Committee through joint inspection and boarding activities by key agencies was already achieving results.
Managing Director of NPA acknowledged enhanced technology deployment, infrastructure upgrades, capacity development and modern equipment as critical to boosting port operations and sustaining Nigeria’s competitiveness within and beyond the sub-region.