Lagos: The Comptroller‑General of Customs, Bashir Adeniyi, has launched a paperless One‑Stop Shop platform designed to dismantle multiple checkpoints, streamline cargo clearance, and enhance trade facilitation at Nigeria’s ports.
The system integrates valuation, intelligence, compliance, enforcement, and processing units into a single digital workflow, marking a landmark reform in customs operations.
At the Lagos inauguration of the One-Stop Shop for customs operations on Friday, Adeniyi emphasized that the platform will eliminate procedures responsible for multiple checkpoints and cargo clearance delays.
Represented by the Deputy Comptroller-General in charge of Enforcement and Investigation, Timi Bomodi, he said the initiative was a deliberate shift from fragmented procedures to coordinated governance.
Adeniyi highlighted that the digital OSS centralises all risk interventions at the Area Command into the Query & Amendment (Q&A) process and manages valuation interventions.
He explained that the platform also integrates the Customs Processing Unit and Customs Intelligence Unit into a single physical and digital space via a checkbox and flagging system.
The CGC identified uncoordinated processes and system gaps—not inspections—as the main source of port delays, which the One-Stop Shop seeks to resolve.
According to him, the platform unifies valuation, intelligence, compliance monitoring, enforcement, and processing into a single workflow with digital tracking and shared dashboards.
He noted that Nigeria’s recent Trade Policy Review at the World Trade Organisation acknowledged efforts to streamline customs procedures and introduce modern compliance frameworks while calling for further improvements in risk management.
“When border processes function efficiently, industries become more competitive, employment opportunities expand, and national productivity is strengthened.
He described the engagement as the start of ongoing reform, with One-Stop Shop performance continuously refined by data, feedback, and technology integration.
“Throughout this process, our objective remains consistent: to facilitate legitimate trade without compromising control, to enhance efficiency without weakening compliance, and to pursue innovation firmly anchored in institutional discipline and regulatory responsibility,” Adeniyi said.
In her welcome address, the Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs in charge of Tariff and Trade, Caroline Niagwan, said the establishment of the One-Stop Shop aligns with the World Customs Organisation’s trade facilitation agreement, which obliges member states to consult stakeholders.
She explained that work on the initiative began in 2018 but faced challenges due to communication gaps and limited opportunities for internal and external stakeholders to contribute and understand the vision.
Niagwan said the platform was relaunched to match the CGC’s priorities of consolidation and collaboration—centralizing risk, eliminating duplication, and boosting clearance efficiency.
“Today, the Nigeria Customs Service is introducing the digital One-Stop Shop platform, an innovative system designed to consolidate all risk interventions at the ports into a single electronic interface aimed at streamlining multiple checks under one digital umbrella,” she said.
She urged customs officers to consider stakeholders’ concerns, noting that feedback revealed how multiple checkpoints negatively affect business operations.
Niagwan also charged officers and men of the service to uphold transparency, noting that the initiative’s success depends largely on their commitment to the process.
The President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Chief Francis Meshioye, commended the Customs Service and pledged manufacturers’ support for efforts to improve ease of doing business through the initiative.
“This initiative represents an international step toward streamlining customs procedures, reducing bottlenecks, enhancing inter-agency coordination and improving ease of doing business at Nigeria’s ports and borders.
“We appreciate customs for creating this open forum where every voice can be heard, and practical solutions will be created,” Meshioye said.
Meshioye, who was represented by the association’s Director of Research, Dr Oluwasegun Osidipe, said collaboration of this nature builds trust, drives reforms and strengthens economic growth and global competitiveness.
Also speaking, the President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents, Mr Kingsley Emenike, expressed support for the initiative, noting that it would enhance trade facilitation and reduce human contact in cargo processing.
Similarly, the President of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders, Chief Tochukwu Ezisi, represented by a member of the association, Mr Innocent Agu, described the initiative as a long-awaited remedy for trade facilitation challenges.
Ezisi stressed that efficiency was non-negotiable for successful implementation and urged stakeholders to collaborate in making Nigerian ports a preferred cargo destination in West and Central Africa.
The Chairman of the Customs Consultative Council, Mr Hakeem Olanrewaju, said the initiative demonstrates collaborative reform and symbolises efficiency, compliance strengthening and improved national competitiveness.
Providing an overview of the platform, Assistant Superintendent of Customs I, Francis Edejor, said Section 77 of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023 empowers customs to investigate value claims, adding that the highest authority at the Area Command can make final tariff decisions.
According to him, the OSS discourages multiple checkpoints by ensuring that risk interventions are addressed only once within an integrated system.
The high-level stakeholder engagement drew an audience from regulators, manufacturers, customs agents, freight forwarders and industry operators.
They described the initiative as a long-awaited reform capable of transforming Nigeria’s trade environment and improving ease of doing business at ports and borders.
