Maroc - VERACITY.COM.NG - A La Une - Hier 09:37

National Single Window to integrate, not replace Customs’ B’Odogwu

The National Single Window Committee has clarified that the proposed National Single Window platform will not replace the Nigeria Customs Service’s indigenous Unified Customs Management System, popularly known as B’Odogwu, but will instead integrate with it to enhance trade processes.The committee made the clarification amid concerns from stakeholders that the introduction of the platform could render the customs system obsolete.Recall that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu inaugurated the National Single Window project in April 2024 as part of efforts to streamline and harmonise Nigeria’s trade processes by bringing all import and export-related agencies onto a single digital platform.The initiative, driven by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Jumoke Oduwole, is expected to cut bureaucratic bottlenecks, improve transparency and strengthen Nigeria’s competitiveness in global trade.According to the minister, the platform will simplify documentation procedures, significantly shorten customs clearance timelines and reduce transaction delays associated with import and export activities.The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, also explained that the National Single Window would coordinate interactions among all stakeholders involved in import and export documentation processes.He said, “The first thing is for us all to have the understanding that the ultimate beneficiary is the Nigerian economy and the Nigerian people. We need to sanitise our regulatory environment and do things in a different way, so that it takes less time for us to get cargoes out of our ports.”Addressing stakeholder concerns, the Director of the National Single Window Committee, Tola Fakolade, noted that the Customs’ B’Odogwu platform would remain in operation because of its crucial role in cargo valuation and other customs documentation processes.Fakolade explained that the National Single Window would rather serve as a unified access point for traders and regulatory agencies.Speaking on Maritime Today, a programme on Traffic Radio 96.1FM on Wednesday, he said the platform would enable importers, exporters, freight forwarders, licensed customs agents and shipping companies to submit regulatory documents through a single portal.“The National Single Window as a concept is a single platform where importers, exporters, freight forwarders, licensed customs agents and shipping lines can submit their regulatory documentation required for import and export processes,” he said.“Basically, instead of going into several systems to obtain permits or complete their processes, we are bringing everything onto one platform as a one-stop shop, so that it would help to streamline the process, and the agencies would grant approvals through the Single Window platform.”He further stressed that the platform would function as an integrating system rather than a replacement for existing digital platforms operated by government agencies.“The Single Window does not replace existing platforms, including the Customs B’Odogwu and those of other agencies. What the Single Window does is integrate with the other platforms at the backend. Users will come through the Single Window, but at the backend it exchanges information and data with the systems of other agencies. It only makes the process easier and more streamlined for users,” he added.