By Lucy Ogalue
The National Single Window (NSW) platform has recorded 20 to 30 per cent increase in import permits and licences issued, compared with the same period last year.
Mr Tola Fakolade, Project Director of NSW, disclosed this at a news conference on Tuesday in Abuja.
Fakolade attributed the increase to improved regulatory compliance driven by the platform, which was inaugurated on March 27.
He said the platform had processed more than 156,000 import permits and licences since its launch, with more than 12,000 registered importers and agents.
According to him, the platform has also trained more than 8,000 users and maintained an uptime of 99.98 per cent.
He said that the platform was designed to improve compliance, block loopholes in import and export processes and simplify trade procedures.
“Talking to many feedbacks from the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration Commission (NAFDAC), the number of licences and permits that have been issued compared to the same period last year has gone up between 20 to 30 per cent,” he said.
Fakolade said the first phase of the project focused on import permits and licences, cargo manifest submissions and payments associated with regulatory approvals.
He said the platform currently centralised applications for permits and licences issued by agencies, including the SON and the NAFDAC.
The project director said the second phase, which focused on exports, was expected to commence operations with the first batch of agencies before the end of 2026.
He said the phase would enable exporters to apply for export licences, permits and certificates through the centralised platform.
Fakolade added that the platform would also accommodate regulatory forms required by the Central Bank of Nigeria for export transactions.
He said user acceptance testing for the first batch of agencies would begin soon, followed by training before the planned rollout.
The project director acknowledged that the platform initially faced user knowledge gaps and technical challenges, including data migration and integration issues.
He said the technical issues had been resolved, while stakeholder engagements and expanded training were being pursued to improve users’ experience.
Fakolade said the full impact of the platform on cargo clearance times would become clearer after implementation of all three phases.
He said that the first phase addressed pre-import permits, while the third phase would cover customs declaration processes.
Mr Peter Ekunkoya, Director of Operations, said agencies already onboarded onto the platform no longer operated parallel paper-based processes.
He said the centralised system was intended to improve transparency and help traders understand delays in processing their documents.
The National Single Window project seeks to centralise trade-related processes and improve efficiency in Nigeria’s import and export procedures. (NAN)
Edited by Francis Onyeukwu
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