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From Tony John, Port Harcourt
The Federal Government is set to eliminate the multiple bottlenecks, delays and revenue leakages that have long frustrated Nigerian exporters, with the launch of Phase 2 of the National Single Window (NSW) project on December 14.
The assurance was given on Thursday in Port Harcourt at the National Single Window Phase 2 Export Sensitisation Joint Stakeholders Forum, where exporters, regulators and trade agencies gathered to prepare for the nationwide roll-out.
The Project Director of the National Single Window, Mr Tola Fakolade, said the second phase will focus entirely on exports, starting with the issuance of export permits by all regulatory agencies.
“The first part will go live on the 14th of December. It is for the issuance of export permits by all the regulatory agencies – SON, NAFDAC, Federal Produce Inspection Service, and all the regulatory agencies that issue permits and inspect our products before they are exported,” Fakolade said.
He disclosed that the second batch of Phase 2, covering Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) processes, will go live in the first quarter of next year.
According to Fakolade, Phase 1, which focused on the submission of licences and permits for imports, has already delivered major gains, particularly in compliance.
“Because of the enforced compliance on the platform, it actually forces users to be compliant. And when there is compliance, then there is blockage of revenue leakages,” he said.
“So, we believe that building on the success that we had in the first phase, in this second trade that is based on export, we can build on that and achieve our objectives.”
He explained that under Phase 1, instead of going to different systems for SON, NAFDAC, Quarantine and others, traders now submit their certificates on one platform, a simplified process that has helped to drive compliance.
Fakolade said the sensitisation tour has taken the team to Enugu, Akure, Jos, Lagos and now Port Harcourt, with Kano and Abuja next, adding that end-user training will start on Monday, November 16.
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“We just finalized our user acceptance testing. We are encouraging everybody to ensure that they are part of this training. So far, we are making very good progress and we are getting ready for the launch,” he said.
Also speaking, the Comptroller of Customs, Aondona Fanyam, who is in charge of Compliance and Modernisation at the Nigeria Customs Service Headquarters, said the theme of the forum was “unlocking endless possibilities” about the role of Customs in making Nigerian products more competitive internationally.
“What we are doing here is working as a team – Nigeria Customs, other MDAs, and the National Single Window Secretariat – to ensure that all those documents that are not digitalised are digitalised and integrated with B’Odogwu, the existing trade application, and the National Single Window for seamless operation and efficiency,” Fanyam said.
He said the success recorded with import processes is being replicated for exports, using a phased approach.
“The National Single Window Project is an initiative of the President to ensure single submission. By single submission, all documents are submitted in one place. Any agency that needs the information picks it from that point of submission, so you don’t need to submit the same information to multiple independent systems,” he explained.
Fanyam identified change management, knowledge gap and capacity building as major challenges in Phase 1, saying they are being taken seriously in Phase 2 through sensitisation and hands-on training at the local level.
He noted that uneven levels of digital development among agencies – with some still on manual processes – had created bottlenecks and wrong documentation, a problem the digital window will solve.
“Now with the digital, you only need the reference number of that documentation to be able to call that documentation from the National Single Window House,” he said.
Both officials said the project, being implemented in partnership with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), will make Nigerian exports faster, cheaper and more competitive.
