The Nigerian Government has intensified efforts to actualise the implementation of the National Single Window at the nation’s ports by 2026.
Vice-President Kashim Shettima said this on Thursday during the second meeting of the Ports and Customs Efficiency Committee at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Shettima explained that the policy aimed at creating a single platform to harmonise documentation, minimise human contact, and bring full transparency to the cargo clearance process, adding that it would be a game changer at the ports.
He noted that the target was to reduce average cargo clearance time from 21 days to less than seven days by the end of 2026.
The vice-president also said that the move would position Nigerian ports among the top three most potent trade corridors in Africa.
“By the end of 2026, we aim to reduce average cargo clearance time in Nigeria to under seven days and to position our ports among the top three most efficient trade gateways on the continent.
“The forthcoming implementation of the National Single Window 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 said.
Shettima directed the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), NAFDAC, Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), and other relevant agencies to come up with a roadmap on how to make Nigeria’s weights and measures framework effective.
He said the target is to improve port operations, make cargo clearance faster and more efficient by reducing average cargo clearance time from 21 days to less than seven days by the end of 2026.
Shettima expressed dismay over cargo dwell time at Nigeria’s major ports”currently averages between 18 to 21 days.
“This is compared to Ghana and Cotonou, Benin Republic, where it takes five to seven days and just four days respectively.
“The cost of clearing goods in Nigeria is estimated to be 30 per cent higher than in many of our regional peers.”
According to him, the nation’s ports record cargo dwell times 475 per cent above the global average 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.
“We simply cannot afford to continue down this path,” he noted.
Shettima, however, expressed optimism that the Executive Order on Joint Physical Inspection currently before President Bola Tinubu, “stands as one of the boldest and most decisive steps toward reversing these trends.
“It marks the dawn of a new era, an era where agencies work together, where systems speak a common language, and where traders and investors can depend on predictability, transparency, and speed,” he added.
He demanded synergy among the NPA, NCS, NAFDAC, SON, NIS and other relevant agencies, saying that the era of working in silo was over.
“But no reform succeeds without ownership. Every agency represented here, the NPA, NCS, NAFDAC, NDLEA, SON and Immigration, the Quarantine Service, as well as all our partners, must see ourselves not as isolated operators, but as links in a single, integrated value chain.
“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,” shettima said.
The Director-General, Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), Zahrah Audu, drew attention to the impact of inefficient port operations on the Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria.
She also underscored the imperative for a collective resolve among stakeholders to improve port operations, making cargo clearance faster and more efficient.
The D-G decried the losses incurred as a result of the inefficiency at the nation’s ports, while acknowledging the efforts of the Customs and Ports Efficiency Committee.
Audu described the committee as a platform that represents not only interagency collaboration but also a shared commitment to making Nigeria’s ports globally competitive, transparent, and efficient.
The Managing Director of NPA, Dr Abubakar Dantsoho, emphasised the importance of synergy in revamping the nation’s ports.
He noted that “until there is collaboration and partnership you cannot achieve efficiency at the ports.”
He highlighted steps taken by the ports authority to address bottlenecks faced by importers and exporters at the nation’s ports.
The MD said the Customs and Ports Efficiency Committee established by the NPA is recording huge successes through the joint inspection and boarding by relevant agencies operating in the area.
He identified adoption of technology, improvement in infrastructure, human capacity building, and equipment and tools, as areas that could be improved to enhance port efficiency.
This, according to him will ensure that Nigeria remains competitive and relevant in the sub-region, continent and beyond.
