The Federal Government has intensified efforts to actualize the implementation of the National Single Window at the nation’s ports by 2026.
Vice President Kashim Shettima said the policy aimed at creating a single platform to harmonise documentation, minimise human contact, and bring full transparency to the cargo clearance process would be a game changer at the ports.
Shettima, who stated this on Thursday during the second meeting of the Ports and Customs Efficiency Committee at the Presidential Villa, noted that the target is to reduce average cargo clearance time from 21 days to less than seven days by the end of 2026, and to position Nigerian ports among the top three most potent trade corridors in Africa.
He stated: “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.”
VP Shettima also directed the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Standards 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.
The weights and measures framework conducts regular surveillance and inspections across Nigeria to ensure that weighing and measuring equipment used in trade is accurate and that consumers receive the correct value for their money in line with standard global practice.
The main objective is to ensure consumer protection, which is achieved by preventing fraud and misrepresentation in commercial transactions involving weights and measures.
Demanding a roadmap for an effective weights and measures framework, the Vice President 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, as well as position Nigerian ports among the top three most potent trade corridors in Africa.
Senator Shettima expressed dismay over cargo dwell time at Nigeria’s major ports, which he said “currently averages between 18 to 21 days,” 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 percent higher than in many of our regional peers. Our ports record cargo dwell times 475 percent 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.
