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By Steve Agbota
With 96 hours to the expected launch of the National Single Window initiative, feedback from stakeholders reflects hope and fears.
The lofty digital trade facilitation tool is designed with the expectation to unify import/export processes and allowing businesses to submit documentation via one portal.
Its main benefits include reducing cargo clearance times (e.g., aiming for 24-48 hours), enhancing revenue generation, improving transparency, reducing operational costs and boosting competitiveness.
Without prejudice to the above stated vision, port stakeholders fear lack of legal framework, corruption and structural gaps may be potential challenges, saying Nigeria must replicate Singapore’s model.
They are also calling for the total elimination of multiplicity of regulatory interfaces.
However, the National Single Window Coordinator, Tola Fakolade, recently put these concerns to rest, urging participating agencies to work in unison.
Fakolade explained that the first phase of the platform would enable online processing of import permits, electronic submission of cargo manifests, and the introduction of a centralised risk management system.
He added that nationwide training for users was already ongoing, while pilot testing has commenced to ensure a seamless rollout. “The support that we need from each of the agencies is even more critical now. Documents will be submitted once and shared with all relevant agencies without duplication,” he said, noting that cargo manifests would be submitted electronically and automatically transmitted to relevant agencies without human intervention.
Experts said that a successful Single Window depends on secure data exchange protocols, cybersecurity safeguards and seamless compatibility with legacy platforms.
Industry operators fear that inter-agency workflow standardisation may not yet be fully synchronised, a development that could create friction once the system goes live.
Speaking with Daily Sun, the Managing Director, Mikky Excellency Nigeria Limited, Alhaji Abdulazeez Babatunde Mukaila, said, “I’m going to pick the aspect of facilitation and leave the revenue generation aside. I would say I am very optimistic, at the same time I’m very cautious because a single window is going to be done in a phase. It’s a work in progress.
“Globally, too, wherever it is besides Singapore, which has a very good success story about it, every nation is trying to make it better. We have looked forward to this for a very long time and the fact that at least we are starting the first phase, we are very optimistic that it is going to have a positive impact on trade by way of exposing, God willing, who does what,” he said.
On what may hamper the implementation of the NSW, he said that, like every other platform and initiative, there is only a tendency to ‘Nigerianise’ the process.
He stressed that it is only natural for individuals and systems long driven by corruption to resist change, noting that the real concern is that entrenched interests within the ports may continue to push back and protect the status quo.
Also speaking, Chairman of Wealthy Honey Investments Nigeria Limited, Dr. Farinto Kayode, said it would be premature to determine whether the National Single Window (NSW) would curb corruption until full implementation begins.
He noted that the “Nigerian factor” often influences outcomes, even in well-designed reforms aimed at tackling corruption.
“So, until it is implemented, that is when we can know whether it can actually curb corruption or not. If not, I cannot really say for now. So we have to start the implementation first,” he said.
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Kayode added that, in principle, the NSW is expected to facilitate trade, but warned that human elements could undermine its effectiveness.
“Even if they design a particular project to eliminate corruption, it is the implementation that matters. So we cannot really say for now whether it will reduce corruption until implementation commences. Then we will start analysing it, maybe after three or four months.
“Definitely, you should expect teething problems when the new system rolls out. That is inevitable. Aside from the teething problem, we will also be faced with a lot of challenges vis-à-vis attitude.
“Because if there is no attitudinal change on behalf of the stakeholders, it will hamper its proper implementation. And besides that, I have not seen any legal framework that can give this teeth that can make it well-implemented. So, since there is no availability of a legal framework, you should expect a lot of challenges here and there.
“Various MDAs and government agencies will want to make sure that they circumvent their procedure, and there won’t be punishment for them. I didn’t mean that as a legal framework that can stipulate any non-conforming zone can have sanity in the system. But it is not available for now. You should expect so many challenges when you roll out this NSW,” he explained.
On his part, the President of the Shippers Association of Lagos State (SALS), Rev. Nicodemus Odolo, said that the single window actually is a superhighway in the facilitation of trade.
He noted that seamless trade facilitation under the National Single Window (NSW) would depend largely on strict adherence to laid-down rules by all stakeholders, stressing that compliance alone could significantly improve efficiency across the ports.
According to him, cargo clearance timelines are expected to shrink drastically, from the current average of 21 days or even a month to between 24 and 48 hours.
He stressed the need for a dedicated and reliable communication infrastructure, including a national satellite system, to ensure uninterrupted operations.
He further stressed the need for uniformity among government agencies involved in cargo clearance, insisting that once cargo is cleared through the NSW, it should not be subjected to further checks or delays. “Once it is released from the National Single Window system, no authority has the right to stop such cargo. Customs must be one Customs. NDLEA must be one NDLEA. NAFDAC must be one NAFDA. SON must be one SON,” he stated.
He explained that enforcement agencies should be able to verify clearance digitally, eliminating the need for physical stoppages. This, he said, would reduce extortion, eliminate unnecessary bottlenecks and enhance the free movement of goods across the country.
While acknowledging the potential obstacles, he maintained that if properly implemented, the NSW would serve as a “superhighway” for trade, delivering a win-win outcome for all stakeholders.
In his submission, the President, Africa Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria (APFFLON), Frank Ogunojemite, warned that critical structural and operational gaps could derail the National Single Window (NSW).
He stressed that this position is not an opposition to reform but a professional risk assessment grounded in operational realities within Nigeria’s cargo clearance and trade facilitation ecosystem.
He cautioned that such systems succeed only when built on internationally accepted principles, including inclusiveness, regulatory harmonisation, systems integration readiness and phased deployment.
Without the confidence of primary end-users, he said, adoption rates may decline, potentially leading to workarounds and parallel processes that defeat the very essence of a single digital window.
He further flagged insufficient end-user simulation and testing as a significant risk, maintaining that comprehensive sandbox testing and live cargo simulations involving licensed operators are essential before any nationwide activation.
“Premature deployment without rigorous stress-testing of integration layers could disrupt cargo processing timelines and trigger costly downtime,” he warned.
