President Bola Tinubu has inaugurated a committee for a National Single Window (NSW) to promote ease of import and export trade in the country.
Tinubu revealed this during the inauguration of the National Steering Committee of the project on Tuesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
According to him, the introduction of the National Single Window (NSW) project is set to enhance integration at both national and regional levels.
The single-window system, also known as the single-window concept, is a trade facilitation idea enabling international traders to provide required information through a single agency, streamlining cross-border transactions.
The president stated that the project would simplify the process of importation and exportation in the country by eliminating the need to interact with various agencies across multiple locations to secure the required documents, permits, and clearance.
According to him, he is committed to creating a favorable environment for the project’s success despite the challenges, and added that he would empower the committee to overcome all obstacles.
- “The national single window is a game changer that will revolutionise the way we conduct trade by simplifying government trade compliance through a digital platform. We unlock the doors to economic prosperity, and all other opportunities.
- “This initiative will link our ports, government agencies and key stakeholders by creating a seamless and efficient system that will facilitate trade like never before.
- “The benefits of this initiative are immense. Paperless trade alone is estimated to bring an annual economic benefit of around 2.7 billion US dollars. Countries like Singapore, Korea, Kenya and Saudi Arabia have already seen significant improvement in trade efficiency after implementing the Single Window System,” he said.
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On his part, Mr. Zacch Adedeji, Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service and head of the Steering Committee, mentioned that Nigeria could achieve an annual growth rate of over seven percent in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by implementing the NSW.
He added that the initiative would foster collaboration and information sharing among different stakeholders in the import and export sectors.
- “This initiative will serve as a catalyst for achieving an average GDP growth rate of 7% annually and propel Nigeria to new islands of prosperity. The national single window is not just a technological advancement.
- “It is the gateway to a more connected, efficient and transparent system by linking our ports, government agencies and key stakeholders,” he said.
In addition, Mohammed Bello-Koko, Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), stated that the NSW is an initiative designed to consolidate all trade documentation onto a single digital platform, simplifying business operations.
He explained that this digital platform would speed up trading processes, facilitate smoother interactions, and enable stakeholders to share essential data, moving away from the current manual paperwork system.
- “So, we are trying to unify this information in such a way that we fill as little as possible and all related government agencies that need information of import or export processing should be able to pick the information they need from there,” Bello-Koko said.
- Other stakeholders involved in the implementation of the project include the federal Inland Revenue Service, NCS, Nigeria sovereign Investment Authority, Central Bank of Nigeria, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, Standards Organisation of Nigeria, Nigerian Maritime Administration on Safety Agency, NPA and the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council.