Nigeria Customs launches One-Stop-Shop initiative to cut cargo clearance to 48 hours, eliminate redundant checks, and improve port efficiency

Nigeria Customs Service has unveiled a One-Stop-Shop (OSS) initiative designed to reduce cargo clearance time to 48 hours, eliminate redundant checks, and expedite dispute resolution at the nation’s seaports and land borders.

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The launch took place in Lagos on Saturday, with Adewale Adeniyi, Comptroller-General of Customs, announcing the programme.

He was represented at the event by Deputy Controller of Customs in charge of Enforcement, Timi Bomodi.

Adeniyi explained that the OSS is anchored in Nigeria’s broader business reforms under Executive Order 001 and the Business Facilitation Act, emphasising transparency, digitisation, service timelines, and inter-agency coordination.

The system integrates valuation, Customs Processing Centres, intelligence, enforcement, compliance monitoring, and gate operations into a single workflow supported by digital tracking and clear escalation paths.

“Within this reform framework, the NCS has continued to reposition its systems to support national competitiveness, with improved rankings in efficiency and transparency reflecting these efforts, even as they remind us that institutional reform must remain continuous, practical, and results-driven,” Adeniyi said.

The OSS replaces a fragmented process in which risk intervention, valuation, enforcement, and compliance units operated largely in isolation, often resulting in sequential inspections, multiple checkpoints, repeated documentation requests, and extended clearance times.

“Over time, these cumulative challenges underscored the need for a comprehensive structural solution rather than piecemeal adjustments. The OSS centralises all risk interventions within a coordinated digital and physical environment, replacing fragmented processes with an integrated clearance system,” Adeniyi said.

He further explained that the system lowers compliance costs by reducing physical interfaces and discretionary interventions, strengthens revenue assurance through intelligence integration, and enhances transparency via digital audit trails and systematic performance monitoring.

Post-clearance controls will be aligned with international best practices and assigned primarily to the Post Clearance Audit Unit, reinforcing consistency, accountability, and regulatory discipline.

Adeniyi highlighted that the OSS deployment is supported by comprehensive process reengineering, structured officer training, and sustained change management programmes.

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Units that once operated independently now function as integrated teams, guided by shared performance indicators and clearly defined responsibilities, resulting in measurable service improvements in line with global evidence under the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement.