Nigeria Loses N1.08trillion Annually to Absence of National Single Window at Seaports

Abiola Seun

The Lack of National Single Window platform in Nigeria Seaports is costing Nigeria economy a whopping N1.08 trillion in Customs revenue annually, report has shown.

The single-window system is a trade facilitation idea. As such, the implementation of a single window system enables international traders to submit regulatory documents at a single location and or single entity.

According to the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of the federal government, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) collections would have increased by 90 percent if the National Single Window has been deployed to the Nigerian ports.

However, with the Nigeria Customs Service generating N1.2 trillion in 2018, the single window would have increased its earnings by additional 90 percent.

It was gathered further that while Ghana, Togo, Benin Republic all have a functional National Trade Platforms for Trade facilitation, Nigeria, a supposed hub for Maritime activities is yet to have a functional Trade platform.

Maritime stakeholders have however argued that the platform if deployed would have reduced cargo delivery time from Nigeria seaport to less than 10 days and further facilitate trade as all agencies operating at the port would have a one stop shop for cargo clearance and evacuation from the Ports.

However, speaking to journalist, the Minister of Finance, Hajia Zainab Ahmed said lack of single window platform at the seaports was one of the reasons why Nigeria dropped one point on the World Bank ranking on Ease of Doing Business.

She however stated that lack of understanding among agencies of government is dragging the implementation of the National Single Window at the seaport.

She said, “Lack of National Single Window is one of the reasons why in the last assessment of the World Bank Ease of Doing Business, we took a one-step slip.

“Recall that in the last one done, we moved 24 places but the last one, we slipped one-step down and the major reason is the single window and PEBEC which is the presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) led by the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osibajo and ten ministers as members and the ministry of Finance and Customs which are charged with making sure that this Single Window finally come to being because single window brings about ten different agencies that of government and all of these different agencies have different views about how their own aspect of the trade should be facilitated so there are lot of drag because of lack of understanding.

“I think we have reached a stage now where we have an understanding of what the single window will be and the structure have to be approved and we have to do a process that will procure the equipment that would be deployed,” she stated.

The Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Shippers’ Council, Barr. Hassan Bello said lack of single window already affects efficiency of the seaports.

Bello said single window will eliminate inefficiencies and lead to simplification of documents and short dwell-time of cargoes at the seaports.

He said, “It has affected the efficiency of our port because the national single window is a trade facilitation platform preferably electronic that will bring all users and providers of shipping services together. Single window will eliminate inefficiencies and lead to simplification of documentation.

“It will lead to transparency and short dwell time of cargo. National single window and the Cargo Tracking Note are all trade facilitation platforms.”

Bello further stated that the implementation of National Single Window would increase trade facilitation and drive down the cost of shipping and clearance.

He stated further, “The federal ministry of transportation is overseeing the Single window and already there is a committee set up by the vice president, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo to look at this national single window which is being chaired by the NPA and the Nigerian Customs Service and the Nigerian Shippers Council is also a member.”

“So we are going through the procurement processes and it is hopeful that this single window will come on stream very soon.

Bello said the idea of the national single window was to make sure that the nation’s ports were more efficient and achieve clearance of cargo within 48 hours and for the nation’s ports to operate just like airport, 24/7.

Besides, he said the nation needs the national single window to block revenue leakages. He said with integration of systems, the agencies of government would provide the national single window.

“I am sure NPA will provide substantial input to Nigerian national single window, As a matter of fact, NPA has port community system which contains a lot of platforms. Shippers Council will contribute same thing, NIMASA will also contribute same thing”, Bello said.

Also expressing regret over lack of single window at the Nation’s seaports, a shipping expert, Dabney Shall-Homa said the country is losing both revenue and cargo clearance.

Shall-Homa, a former Director at the Nigerian Shippers Council said, “We are losing everything because lack of single window. A single window has three disparities, ship, documentation and tracking, documentation itself with transaction, so we are losing in terms of transactions; we are losing in even understanding the way things are.

Also speaking on the absence of the National Single Window at Nigerian Seaports, the former National President, Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents, (ANLCA), Olayiwola Shittu urged the Federal Government to support the adoption and implementation of a Single Window System, to enable swift movement of goods and services in the ports.

Shittu, who wondered why Nigerian government was delaying in the implementation of the system, advised appropriate agencies in the maritime sector to follow the footsteps of other neighbouring countries that have implemented the system.

He stated: “When Single Window was established at the Cotonou Port, it reduced cargo delivery time from 40 days to less than 10 days. It increased government revenue by more than 39 per cent. In terms of truck transit down to port they gained 23 per cent of the time, so it is something we cannot run away from”.

He further stressed the need for cooperation among the various stakeholders in the industry for the system to work.

“It is only here in Nigeria that there is no connectivity between the stakeholders; the terminal operators do not know what a shipping company is doing, port authority does not know what the terminal operator is doing, other government agencies don’t even know what the operators are doing.

“So there is need for us to work together and that is the essence of the port community system that is supposed to be a common platform for interaction so that the faster we embrace the single window system the better it’s going to be for the port and that is going to lead to cost reduction”