FG gives MDAs November deadline to tackle export bottlenecks

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The Federal Government has given ministries, departments and agencies until the end of November 2026 to complete the second phase of the National Single Window, as it moves to eliminate regulatory and bureaucratic barriers slowing Nigerian exports.

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The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, announced the deadline on Wednesday in Abuja during a high-level stakeholder engagement on the activation of Phase 2 of the National Single Window and the Export Tracker.

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She said the next phase of the digital trade platform must address fragmentation, duplication and weak coordination among government agencies, which have continued to raise costs and create delays for exporters.

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“At the close of this engagement, we must know what we own in the Phase 2 journey, where we stand against the agreed milestones, what remains outstanding, which institutions or systems we depend on and who owns the next action, with a firm delivery date which is the end of November 2026,” Oduwole said.

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The minister said the National Single Window, which became operational on March 27, had processed more than 124,614 licences and permits, registered 11,096 importers and agents, and trained over 8,000 users.

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According to her, the platform has also facilitated about N12.59bn in regulatory payments.

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“It is a long time coming for Nigeria. We have joined the league of nations with a National Single Window and, for a trading nation, it was Mr President’s target and we all need to be proud of that,” she said.

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Oduwole, however, warned that the launch of the platform should not be mistaken for the completion of the reform, saying its effectiveness would ultimately depend on whether businesses experience faster, simpler and more predictable export procedures.

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She said the initiative was central to President Bola Tinubu’s drive to diversify the economy, increase non-oil exports, create jobs and build a $1tn economy by 2030.

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“Trade does not happen at the border alone. It depends on the system connecting production to market, standards, finance, logistics, regulation, border processing and digital platforms,” she said.

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The minister recalled that exporters identified seven major constraints during the ministry’s export consultation in November 2024, adding that more than half were connected to fragmentation, duplication, poor coordination and inconsistent regulation.

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She cited cases where exporters had their containers inspected repeatedly by different government agencies, describing such duplication as part of the administrative burden the National Single
nWindow was designed to eliminate.n

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Oduwole said experience from the first phase showed that connecting agencies to the platform was not enough, as data migration, integration, user support, change management and data governance were also critical.

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Figures presented at the meeting showed that the Standards Organisation of Nigeria processed more than 85,000 documents through the platform, generating N9.95bn in regulatory payments.

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The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control processed 38,985 documents and recorded N2.59bn in payments.

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“These figures show real adoption. They also reinforce a critical lesson that go-live is not the same as readiness,” Oduwole said.

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She explained that Phase 2 would integrate export permits, certificates, licences, inspections, payments and other regulatory processes into a coordinated system.

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According to her, the government is working towards an operating model of “one portal, one submission and one coordinated process.”

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“Information already held by the government should not be requested repeatedly. Institutions will retain their statutory responsibilities, but exporters do not have to navigate the government’s internal complexity to complete one transaction.

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“That complexity is ours to solve, not theirs to carry. They should experience the Nigerian government as one government,” she said.

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Oduwole disclosed that the ministry had started aligning processes involving the Federal Produce Inspection Service, Regulatory Export Number, SON, Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority, Nigerian Export Promotion Council and other relevant institutions ahead of the integrated export track.

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She said the success of the second phase would be judged not merely by the number of agencies connected to the system, but by whether exporters could understand regulatory requirements, submit information once, monitor applications, make payments, obtain approvals and move Nigerian products to international markets faster.

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Earlier, the Executive Chairman of the National Revenue Service, Dr Zacch Adedeji, urged participating agencies to comply strictly with implementation timelines.

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Adedeji said the government remained committed to improving the ease of doing business, noting that creating a more efficient business environment was necessary to attract investment and strengthen the economy.

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Also speaking, the Director of the National Single Window Secretariat, Mr Tola Fakolade, said five government agencies had been fully onboarded onto the platform.

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He listed them as SON, NAFDAC, the Nigerian Customs Service, Nigeria Quarantine Service and the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency.

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Fakolade said the platform had also recorded significant adoption in the submission of cargo manifests.

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According to him, 25 of the 27 airlines handling cargo in Nigeria had been onboarded, representing about 93 per cent participation, while more than 2,523 air cargo manifests had been submitted through the system.

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He added that the government, working with the Nigerian Customs Service, introduced electronic sea-manifest submission through the National Single Window about three weeks ago.
nSo far, 48 of 88 shipping lines have joined the platform, with 99 manifests submitted since the sea-manifest component was introduced.n

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Fakolade acknowledged technical problems during the early implementation of the platform but said they had been addressed.

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“Overall, this is showing that there is strong adoption, even though there were technical challenges in the beginning. We were able to fix all those and ensure that the platform continues to get better every day,” he said.

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With the second phase focusing on exports, the government will now have to translate the digital integration of agencies into shorter processing times, fewer duplicate documentation requirements and greater predictability for Nigerian businesses seeking access to international markets.

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