FG sets November deadline for export reforms

The Federal Government has set November 2026 as the deadline for ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to complete the second phase of the National Single Window, aimed at removing bureaucratic obstacles hampering Nigeria’s export trade.

Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, announced the deadline on Wednesday in Abuja at a stakeholder meeting on the implementation of Phase 2 of the National Single Window and the Export Tracker.

Oduwole said the next stage of the initiative must resolve the duplication of regulatory processes, fragmented systems and poor coordination among government agencies that continue to increase the cost and time involved in exporting Nigerian goods.

She directed participating institutions to establish clear responsibilities, identify outstanding tasks and commit to firm delivery dates ahead of the November deadline.

“At the close of this engagement, we must know what we own in the Phase 2 journey, where we stand against the agreed milestones, what remains outstanding, which institutions or systems we depend on and who owns the next action, with a firm delivery date which is the end of November 2026,” she said.

The minister disclosed that the National Single Window, launched on March 27, had so far processed more than 124,614 licences and permits, registered 11,096 importers and agents and trained over 8,000 users.

She added that regulatory payments worth about N12.59 billion had been processed through the platform.

According to Oduwole, the launch of the system should not be regarded as the end of the reform process, as its success would ultimately depend on whether businesses experience simpler, quicker and more predictable trade procedures.

She said the initiative formed part of President Bola Tinubu’s economic agenda to expand non-oil exports, create jobs and support the ambition of building a $1 trillion economy by 2030.

“Trade does not happen at the border alone. It depends on the system connecting production to market, standards, finance, logistics, regulation, border processing and digital platforms,” she said.

Oduwole recalled that exporters had identified seven major challenges during a ministry consultation in November 2024, with more than half linked to fragmented processes, duplication, weak coordination and inconsistent regulation.

She cited instances of exporters having their consignments subjected to multiple inspections by different government agencies, saying such practices represented the type of administrative burden the single-window system was designed to remove.

The minister said lessons from the first phase showed that simply connecting agencies to the digital platform was insufficient, stressing the importance of data migration, system integration, user support, change management and effective data governance.

Figures presented at the meeting showed that the Standards Organisation of Nigeria processed more than 85,000 documents through the platform, generating N9.95 billion in regulatory payments.

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, on the other hand, processed 38,985 documents and recorded N2.59 billion in payments.

Oduwole said the figures demonstrated growing adoption but noted that participation on the platform did not automatically translate into full operational readiness.

She explained that Phase 2 would bring export permits, certificates, licences, inspections, payments and other regulatory procedures into a coordinated digital system.

The government, she said, was working towards a model of “one portal, one submission and one coordinated process.”

“Information already held by the government should not be requested repeatedly. Institutions will retain their statutory responsibilities, but exporters do not have to navigate the government’s internal complexity to complete one transaction,” she said.

“That complexity is ours to solve, not theirs to carry. They should experience the Nigerian government as one government.”

Oduwole said work was already underway to align the processes of the Federal Produce Inspection Service, Regulatory Export Number, SON, Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority, Nigerian Export Promotion Council and other relevant agencies.

She said the ultimate test of Phase 2 would be whether exporters could submit information once, track applications, make payments, obtain approvals and move their products into international markets more efficiently.

Earlier, the Executive Chairman of the National Revenue Service, Dr Zacch Adedeji, urged participating agencies to adhere to the agreed implementation schedule.

Adedeji said improving the business environment remained critical to attracting investment and strengthening Nigeria’s economy.

The Director of the National Single Window Secretariat, Tola Fakolade, disclosed that five agencies had been fully integrated into the platform: SON, NAFDAC, the Nigerian Customs Service, Nigeria Quarantine Service and the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency.

Fakolade said the system had also recorded significant participation from the aviation and maritime sectors.

According to him, 25 of the 27 airlines handling cargo in Nigeria had been onboarded, while more than 2,523 air cargo manifests had been submitted electronically.

He added that electronic sea-manifest submission was introduced through the platform about three weeks earlier in collaboration with the Nigerian Customs Service.

So far, 48 of 88 shipping lines have joined the system, with 99 sea manifests submitted since the launch of the component.

Fakolade acknowledged that the platform experienced technical difficulties at the initial stage but said the problems had been resolved.

“Overall, this is showing that there is strong adoption, even though there were technical challenges in the beginning. We were able to fix all those and ensure that the platform continues to get better every day,” he said.

The second phase will now shift the focus towards exports, with the government expected to demonstrate that digital integration can reduce paperwork, eliminate duplicated regulatory procedures and make the movement of Nigerian goods into international markets faster and more predictable.