By Aishat Momoh, Lagos
The National Single Window (NSW) Committee has dismissed concerns that the proposed National Single Window platform will replace the Nigeria Customs Service’s indigenous Unified Customs Management System (UCMS), popularly known as B’Odogwu, clarifying that both systems will operate in a complementary manner.
The NSW project was inaugurated in April 2024 by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as part of efforts to streamline and harmonise Nigeria’s import and export processes through a centralised digital platform. The initiative is being championed by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole.
In her remarks, the minister opined, “The platform is designed to simplify documentation requirements, improve customs clearance timelines, reduce bureaucracy, and enhance Nigeria’s competitiveness in global trade.”
Speaking on the initiative, the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Adewale Adeniyi, said, “The NSW would help manage interactions among all actors involved in import and export documentation processes. And the ultimate goal is to benefit the Nigerian economy by sanitising the regulatory environment and reducing the time required to clear cargo from ports.”
Allaying stakeholder concerns, Director of the National Single Window Committee, Tola Fakolade, explained that the B’Odogwu platform will remain operational, particularly for cargo valuation and other customs-specific documentation.
Speaking on Maritime Today, a programme on Traffic Radio 96.1FM, Fakolade described the NSW as a single-entry portal where importers, exporters, freight forwarders, licensed customs agents, and shipping lines can submit regulatory documentation required for trade transactions.
He explained that rather than navigating multiple agency platforms to obtain permits and approvals, users would access a one-stop digital shop through the Single Window.
His words: “The Single Window does not replace existing platforms, including Customs B’Odogwu and those of other agencies,” Fakolade stated. “What it does is integrate with these systems at the backend. Users will submit through the Single Window, while the platform exchanges information with the systems of relevant agencies, thereby making the process more streamlined and efficient.”
The committee reiterated that the NSW is intended to improve coordination among trade-related agencies while preserving existing operational systems critical to customs administration.
