Oritsegbubemi Omatseyin
Lagos — The Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, and the National Single Window, NSW, Secretariat have intensified engagement with stakeholders in the maritime and trade sectors ahead of the rollout of the NSW project aimed at improving efficiency in trade documentation and cargo clearance. This was disclosed at a stakeholder forum on the National Single Window held in Lagos.
Speaking at the event, the Zonal Coordinator, Zone ‘A’, Assistant Comptroller-General Mohammed Babandede, represented by Deputy Comptroller Taiwo Fagbohun, said the success of the initiative depends on sustained collaboration between government agencies and the private sector.
He explained that the forum was organized to deepen stakeholders’ understanding of the project and promote shared responsibility in its implementation.
He said: “This forum reflects the importance of sustaining collaboration among government institutions and the private sector in building a more efficient, transparent, and technology-driven trade environment in Nigeria.
“The objective of this engagement forum is to strengthen awareness, collaboration, and collective ownership of the National Single Window Initiative, a critical component of Nigeria’s ongoing trade facilitation reforms.”
He reaffirmed the Nigeria Customs Service’s commitment to working closely with relevant partners to ensure a smooth transition to the platform.
Providing further insight into the project, the Director of the National Single Window Project, Tola Fakolade, highlighted transparency and traceability as key benefits of the system.
According to Fakolade, the platform will serve as a central hub for all trade-related documentation.
“With every information and document passing through the single window, the platform becomes the central source of truth when it comes to import and export documentation. It also enables tracking to know at every point in time where an application process is,” Fakolade said.
Panelists at the forum noted that while Harmonised System, HS, Codes remain the globally recognised classification system for international trade, the National Single Window framework is designed to harmonise regulatory overlaps among agencies through improved risk profiling.
Stakeholders at the event welcomed the initiative and commended the organizers for involving industry players in the dialogue.
