NSW rakes in N17bn from importers in eight months

The National Single Window Committee has disclosed that, within the last eight months, more than 4,000 trade manifests have been submitted and N17bn has been received from importers for the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, Standards Organisation of Nigeria, Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service and other agencies on the NSW platform.

The Secretariat made the disclosure on Tuesday in Lagos during a stakeholders’ engagement held ahead of the launch of the second phase of the NSW.

Speaking during the event, the Director of the NSW Committee, Mr Tola Fakolade, also revealed that the committee and the Central Bank of Nigeria were in the process of resolving conflicting issues over the HS Code status of some products at the nation’s ports.

“In the last eight months, over 4,000 manifests have been submitted. N17bn payments have been processed to date. And these are payments that go to the coffers of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, Standards Organisation of Nigeria, Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service and other agencies on the NSW platform.

169,211 licences, permits and certificates have been processed through the NSW platform since March 27, 2026,” Fakolade said.

He disclosed that the NSW Secretariat had more than 12,000 importers and agents registered on the NSW platform: “We have 27 airlines on board, and these airlines have submitted over 4,000 air cargo manifests that have been transmitted through the Single Window. We have 20 shipping lines, and we are onboarding NPA and NIMASA before the end of the year.”

Addressing the challenges, the NSW Committee Coordinator said the Secretariat initially encountered difficulties with some HS Codes, which were still regulated by three or four government agencies.

Fakolade said the committee had made progress in streamlining the processes through sustained efforts, adding that the Secretariat had also reduced the number of agencies responsible for regulating certain products, thereby simplifying the procedures.

“So, I believe we are just a few weeks away from now inputting that in the system. Very soon, importers will have new HS Codes,” he said.

He disclosed that the Secretariat would intensify its training programmes in the coming weeks.

“And we will continue to train. We will have a wider network of training centres to ensure that more people get trained. And we’ll also improve our coverage of support centres. We only have one physical support centre today in Apapa. We hope to establish a bit more of those outside Lagos so that people can receive support even if they are not in Lagos,” he said.

He emphasised that since President Bola Tinubu inaugurated the NSW, the Secretariat had been collaborating with its partners to establish a Single Window system in Nigeria, modelled after similar platforms operating in several countries worldwide.

Providing background on the NSW, Fakolade said the United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business, in partnership with the WCO and WTO, developed the Single Window concept to provide a central platform for submitting trade documents, thereby simplifying procedures, eliminating duplication and facilitating trade.

“So that is the concept of the Single Window,” he added.

Earlier, the Deputy Director and Regional Coordinator, South-West, Nigeria Export Promotion Council, Benedict Itegbe, described the initiative as a strategic reform that would eliminate documentation bottlenecks, improve logistics and strengthen the country’s non-oil export sector.

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Itegbe said the council was among the first agencies scheduled to go live under Phase Two, adding that it was working with the project Secretariat and the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment to align its processes with the new platform.

He said the initiative would consolidate critical export documentation, including the Nigerian Export Proceeds Form, Nigeria Customs export documentation, export manifests and free zone permit, on a single portal.

Itegbe, however, identified documentation requirements and procedural bottlenecks as persistent challenges facing exporters, stressing that the NSW infrastructure would eliminate multiple submissions and fragmented regulatory processes, making it easier for exporters to complete transactions.

He said the council was working with the NSW Secretariat to bring export processes onto the platform and leverage its existing export support infrastructure across the country to guide exporters through registration and document uploads.

Itegbe added that the council would gather feedback from exporters during the pilot and rollout phases and communicate their concerns to the Secretariat to improve the system.

According to him, the success of the second phase would ultimately depend on the experience of exporters and the ability of participating agencies to eliminate duplication and provide seamless services.

He also called on banks, logistics operators and customs agents to prepare for the transition, noting that their readiness would determine how quickly Nigerian products could access international markets.

The Comptroller-General of Customs, Dr Bashir Adeniyi, who was represented by the Nigeria Customs Service Zonal Coordinator of Zone A, Frank Onyeka, said the second phase would simplify export processes, improve cargo clearance and the ease of doing business, and strengthen the country’s competitiveness in international trade.

He described the adoption rate of more than 95 per cent and other achievements of the first phase as evidence that Nigeria had the capacity to embrace digital trade and successfully deploy technology to improve its trading environment.

Adeniyi said the integration of the platforms would help address delays associated with trade procedures, accelerate cargo clearance and reduce cargo downtime, thereby improving efficiency across the supply chain.

He expressed optimism that the second phase would create new opportunities for export businesses, increase non-oil revenue and strengthen the country’s position in regional and international trade.

He said the NSW initiative aligned with the NCS policy thrusts of collaboration, consolidation and innovation, as well as the Unified Customs Management System, known as B’Odogwu.

According to him, the NCS was committed to exploring every avenue of trade participation to encourage traders and investors through transparent processes that would contribute to national economic prosperity.

The National Single Window is a global platform. The United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business, the body that seeks to facilitate trade globally, together with the World Trade Organisation and World Customs Organisation, came up with the concept of a Single Window some decades ago.

In Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu inaugurated the National Single Window Project on April 16, 2024.