Digital Overhaul: Customs Targets 48-Hour Clearance with New OSS

By Zainab Uzomah| Abuja

The Nigeria Customs Service has introduced a new digital One-Stop Shop platform aimed at reducing delays at the country’s ports and cutting cargo clearance time to 48 hours.

The initiative was launched in Lagos on Friday by the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, who described it as a major step toward modernising border operations and improving Nigeria’s competitiveness in global trade.

According to Adeniyi, the platform forms part of wider economic reforms under President Bola Tinubu and reflects international standards set by the World Trade Organisation’s Trade Facilitation Agreement, which projects that streamlined border processes can reduce trade costs for developing nations by more than 14%.

He said the Service was moving towards a fully paperless operating environment, with the first phase of digital documentation and clearance expected to be rolled out before the end of the second quarter of 2026.

“This platform marks a shift from fragmented interventions to coordinated governance, fromdiscretion to data, and from isolated actions to collective responsibility,” he said. “Through this reform, we aim to support lawful trade, safeguard national interests and strengthen the economy.”

The Deputy Comptroller-General in charge of Tariff and Trade, Caroline Niagwan, said the One-Stop Shop brings all risk interventions under a single electronic interface, addressing long-standing concerns over multiple checkpoints and inspections.

She told stakeholders that their input would be essential to the platform’s successful implementation.

A technical briefing by the Customs TradeFacilitation Unit outlined plans to reduce clearance time from an average of 21 days to about 48 hours, as well as measures to overcome expected implementation challenges.

Stakeholders at the meeting welcomed the reform, saying the new system would strengthen legitimate trade. An interactive session was also held to clarify operational procedures ahead of the platform’s rollout.