Customs Launches One-Stop-Shop Platform for Cargo Clearance, Sets to go Paperless by Q2 2026

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has announced plans to fully implement paperless operations by the second quarter of 2026, marking a significant milestone in Nigeria’s trade facilitation efforts.
The initiative aims to accelerate cargo clearance, reduce delays, and enhance efficiency across the nation’s borders.

The announcement came during the official launch of the One-Stop-Shop (OSS) platform in Lagos on Friday, under the theme “Enhancing trade facilitation through integrated risk intervention, faster clearance process and efficient dispute resolution.” Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, described the OSS as a continuation of trust-based engagement with the trading community and a key component of Nigeria’s broader digital transformation strategy.

Represented by Deputy Comptroller-General of Enforcement, Timi Bomodi, Adeniyi emphasized that the platform reflects the Service’s commitment, under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s leadership, to predictable, transparent, and accountable border processes that enhance investment and competitiveness. According to the Comptroller-General, delays at Nigerian ports are often caused not by the time taken for inspections, but by fragmented procedures, overlapping checks, and idle waiting times.
National assessments, Nigeria’s Trade Policy Review at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), and the Service’s Time Release Study have all identified these bottlenecks as major factors increasing trade costs and weakening investor confidence.

The OSS centralizes valuation processes, processing centres, intelligence and enforcement, compliance monitoring, and gate operations into a single workflow. Digital tracking, automated alerts, joint inspections, and shared dashboards replace fragmented interventions, making all actions traceable, accountable, and coordinated.
“Multiple checkpoints are collapsed into one decision space, with interventions that are collective, fully auditable, and aligned with institutional responsibility,” Adeniyi explained.

The platform targets a 48-hour clearance window for cargo, lower compliance costs for traders, stronger revenue assurance, and enhanced transparency across all processes.

The paperless initiative, starting with core clearance, documentation, and approvals, is scheduled for rollout by the end of the second quarter of 2026. “This will reduce physical interfaces, improve processing speed, and strengthen audit controls,” Adeniyi said.

The Comptroller-General emphasized the importance of inter-agency collaboration under the “One Government” directive and reaffirmed the Service’s support for the National Single Window initiative, which will complement the OSS by extending coordination across the entire border management ecosystem.
Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs in charge of Tariff and Trade, Caroline Kemen Niagwan, noted that OSS adoption began in 2018 but faced implementation challenges, mainly due to communication gaps.

“The digital platform now consolidates all risk interventions into a single interface, eliminating procedural complications and improving clearance efficiency,” Niagwan said.

She urged officers at ports and border stations to take ownership of the process, emphasizing that active participation from all teams will ensure the platform’s success.

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), represented by Director General Segun Oshidipe, lauded the Nigeria Customs Service for improving the ease of doing business in Nigeria. Oshidipe described the OSS as a deliberate step to streamline procedures, reduce bottlenecks, enhance inter-agency coordination, and improve operations at ports and borders.

He praised the creation of an open forum where stakeholders can voice concerns and propose practical solutions, emphasizing that collaboration and transparency are essential to building trust, driving reforms, and strengthening Nigeria’s global competitiveness.

MAN expressed readiness to collaborate for the OSS’s successful implementation, hoping the engagement would boost operational efficiency, enhance trade facilitation, and contribute to national economic development.

However, Oshidipe stressed that true success depends on seamless, timely trade facilitation at reasonable costs, achievable through better understanding, stronger partnerships, and deeper stakeholder engagement.

“The long-term goal is a more efficient and digitally secure trade environment that drives compliance, lowers costs, and spurs economic growth,” he said.
President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Emenike Nwokeoji, commended the management of the Nigeria Customs Service under Comptroller-General Bashir Adewale Adeniyi.

“We have been eager to see this and we are in full support. We believe that implementation of the One-Stop-Shop will reduce human contact at the port,” Nwokeoji said.