The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), in collaboration with the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), has launched a results-driven reform agenda focused on joint inspections, risk-based cargo clearance, optimisation of scanning infrastructure, enforcement of service timelines and stronger inter-agency coordination.

The initiative, unveiled at the opening of a three-day operational workshop held in Apapa, themed ‘Customs Leadership in Port Efficiency, Inspection Reform and Clearance Timeline’, is aimed at improving operational efficiency and enhancing Nigeria’s trade competitiveness through better-performing ports.

The Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC), Adewale Adeniyi, stressed that the priority was no longer policy design but consistent execution to ensure cargo clearance time was reduced from 21 days to four days.

“This workshop is about closing the distance between knowing and doing. The Service must now focus on translating established best practices into consistent operational outcomes”, he said.

Adeniyi emphasised the transition to intelligence-led cargo processing, noting that investments in digital platforms and scanning systems must translate to faster and more transparent clearance processes for traders.

To ensure implementation, the CGC disclosed that the workshop would produce a reform execution matrix to be closely monitored, while urging officers to always uphold professionalism.

“The reform implementation matrix will not end up in a filing cabinet. It will be actively monitored, and I will personally follow the progress reports. The professionalism, commitment, and integrity that this workshop asks of are qualities you need to acquire. I am asking you to deploy them consistently, not selectively”, he stated.

The Director-General of PEBEC, Zahrah Mustapha-Audu, underscored the importance of adopting risk-based, data-driven inspection systems to improve efficiency and reduce the cost of doing business.

She noted that efficient and transparent border processes are critical to reducing costs and strengthening Nigeria’s trade position.

Mustapha-Audu revealed that PEBEC began 2026 with a target to reduce cargo dwell time at ports to less than seven days, noting that with the rollout of the NSW systems and increased inter-agency coordination, cargo clearance timelines could drop further to between three and four days.

Earlier, Deputy Comptroller-General in charge of Tariff and Trade, Caroline Niagwan, said the Service’s evolving mandate places it at the centre of trade facilitation and economic growth, adding that operational efficiency must be reflected across all commands.