Fresh disagreements have emerged over the implementation of Nigeria’s National Single Window (NSW), with customs agents questioning the effectiveness of the trade platform while the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) insists the initiative is already delivering positive results.
Launched by the Federal Government in March 2026, the National Single Window is a centralized digital platform designed to simplify import and export processes by allowing traders to submit documents through a single portal instead of dealing with multiple government agencies.
However, the President of the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA), Lucky Amiwero, said the system has fallen short of its objectives, arguing that it has created additional layers of bureaucracy rather than reducing them.
“Instead of a single window, what we have are multiple windows that are complicating the process for importers and clearing agents,” Amiwero said.
He rejected reports that the project had successfully moved into a second phase, insisting that key operational challenges identified during the initial rollout remain unresolved. Amiwero also urged the Federal Government to transfer the implementation of the platform to the Nigeria Customs Service, arguing that the agency has the legal authority, operational infrastructure and technical expertise to manage the system under the Customs Act.
The customs agents’ leader further opposed plans for the electronic transmission of cargo manifests outside the Customs framework, maintaining that cargo manifest administration is a statutory responsibility of the NCS. He called for all trade documentation to be integrated into a single Customs platform to eliminate duplication and reduce delays in cargo clearance, which he said continue to increase demurrage and other costs for importers.
Despite the concerns, the Nigeria Customs Service has maintained that the National Single Window is achieving its intended goals. The agency said the platform has improved trade facilitation, enhanced cargo clearance efficiency and strengthened Nigeria’s competitiveness in global trade.
As part of the next phase of implementation, the NCS, in collaboration with the National Single Window Secretariat, has begun stakeholder sensitisation on the electronic submission of vessel manifests.
Speaking during the engagement, Deputy Comptroller-General in charge of ICT/Modernisation, Oluyomi Adebakin, said the initiative builds on consultations held before and after the launch of the platform on March 27, 2026. She described the National Single Window as a globally recognised trade facilitation system capable of improving transparency, operational efficiency and Nigeria’s standing in international commerce.
Adebakin explained that electronic manifest submission would not replace Customs’ statutory responsibilities but would instead provide a faster, more transparent and more efficient way of processing trade documentation. She added that the system would improve data integrity while strengthening anti-smuggling operations.
Also speaking, National Coordinator of the National Single Window Project, Tola Fakolade, praised the Nigeria Customs Service for supporting the implementation of the programme. According to him, the platform has already issued more than 100,000 licences and permits and registered over 1,000 users, describing the figures as an important milestone in Nigeria’s drive to modernise international trade.
