By Mary Onyia
Controversy has continued to trail the implementation of the National Single Window (NSW), a centralized digital portal launched by the Federal Government in March 2026 to address delays in import-export processing at the ports.
The programme allows importers and exporters to submit trade documents once, replacing duplicate paperwork across multiple agencies.
While the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has consistently maintained that there is no problem with the system, and that it has recorded early successes, the President of the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA), Lucky Amiwero, argued that the system is not operating as envisaged, urging the government to hand over the implementation to the (NC).
According to Amiwero, 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 Service 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 said that the NSW platform has enhanced trade facilitation, improved efficiency in goods clearing and Nigeria’s competitiveness in international trade.
Also, the NCS, 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.
The National Coordinator of the National Single Window Project, Tola Fakolade, commended the NCS for supporting implementation of the initiative.
He disclosed that the platform had 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.