The Director of the National Single Window (NSW) Project, Tola Fakolade, disclosed that ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) scheduled for the pilot phase of the platform have been fully onboarded ahead of unveiling.

He also revealed that the Federal Government has provided funding to support several government agencies currently lacking the required digital capacity to fully integrate into the platform to ensure that the project goes live on Wednesday.

This was stated yesterday at the Phase One NSW Stakeholder Engagement Session held at Victoria Island, Lagos.

“We have achieved 100 per cent integration with all first-phase agencies, including the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC),” he stated.

Fakolade admitted that some MDAs lack the required digital capacity, noting that the Federal Government’s funding is to strengthen their technological capacity, upgrade infrastructure and ensure seamless integration into the NSW network.

According to him, the NSW Secretariat has been working with select agencies over the past two years to ensure they meet the infrastructure requirements necessary for seamless participation in the platform.

Fakolade, however, stated that due to inefficiencies, many importers currently ship goods to Cotonou port before transporting them by road to Nigeria, a process that is faster and cheaper than direct shipment to Apapa Port.

He stated that such practice deprives the Nigerian government of significant customs revenue, as goods entering through land borders often benefit from regional free movement protocols with minimal or no duties paid locally.

“If we streamline our port processes, the duties currently going to Cotonou will come to Nigeria,” he said, stressing that improved efficiency would make Nigerian ports more competitive within West Africa.

On data protection, Fakolade assured stakeholders that strict access controls and cybersecurity measures have been implemented, adding that top cybersecurity firms have been engaged to continuously monitor threats and ensure rapid response to any potential breaches.

Speaking on payments within the platform, the NSW boss disclosed that three service providers have been integrated to handle transactions, such as Remita, Interswitch, and Intranet, as part of efforts to ensure seamless payment within the system.

Also speaking, the President/Chairman of Council, LCCI, Leye Kupoluyi, said Nigeria remains one of Africa’s largest trading economies, yet its trade facilitation indicators continue to lag global and regional benchmarks.

He said while Nigeria’s trade potentials have shown good performance, businesses have continued to suffer under avoidable circumstances that delay and disrupt the flow of operations at the ports, thereby raising costs.

Kupoluyi stressed that for decades, businesses have grappled with duplicative documentation requirements, overlapping regulatory mandates, inconsistent procedures and limited transparency in trade processes.

According to him, these inefficiencies erode competitiveness, discourage investment and ultimately weaken the country’s position in global value chains.

Kupoluyi cited Singapore, South Korea and Rwanda that have successfully implemented single window systems and recorded remarkable improvements in trade efficiency.

He said the evidence is clear as streamlined digital platforms reduce clearance times, lower transaction costs, improve compliance and significantly boost trade volumes.

The LCCI president said for Nigeria, the system offers the potential to reduce cargo clearance time by up to 50 per cent, enhance revenue collection, curb leakages and strengthen regulatory coordination across agencies.