Nigeria Customs to Roll Out Paperless Clearance by Q2 as CGC Launches One-Stop-Shop Platform in Lagos
Kathy Kyari
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has announced that it will commence the rollout of a fully paperless customs clearance system by the end of the second quarter of 2026, as part of sweeping reforms aimed at accelerating cargo processing and eliminating bureaucratic bottlenecks at the nation’s borders.
Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, made the disclosure on Thursday at the launch of the NCS One-Stop-Shop (OSS) Platform Stakeholders’ Engagement held at Marriott Hotel Lagos.
Addressing stakeholders, industry operators and government partners, Adeniyi described the paperless transition as a critical milestone in the Service’s broader institutional reforms.
“As part of this broader transformation, the Service is advancing toward a fully paperless Customs environment. I am pleased to inform stakeholders that the first phase of this transition, covering core clearance, documentation, and approval processes, is scheduled for rollout by the end of the second quarter of this year,” he said.
He explained that the digital shift would “further reduce physical interfaces, enhance data integrity, improve processing speed, and strengthen audit controls.”
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The announcement came alongside the formal engagement on the NCS One-Stop-Shop initiative — a streamlined cargo clearance framework designed to eliminate redundant checks, collapse multiple intervention points, and centralise risk management processes.
The Comptroller-General noted that previous clearance structures had evolved into fragmented systems where valuation, enforcement, intelligence, compliance and processing units operated largely in isolation.
“Over time, risk intervention at the declaration processing stage evolved into a fragmented structure in which valuation, enforcement, intelligence, compliance, and processing units operated largely in isolation, with limited coordination and unclear accountability,” Adeniyi stated.
He added that this structure created “multiple checkpoints, sequential reviews, and repeated documentation requests,” leading to avoidable delays and increased compliance costs for traders.
The One-Stop-Shop framework is designed to centralise all risk interventions at the Area Command level into the Query & Amendment (Q&A) process, bringing together valuation, Customs Processing Centres (CPC), intelligence, enforcement and compliance units into a unified physical and digital workspace.
“The One-Stop-Shop is designed as a unified operational framework that centralises all risk interventions within a coordinated digital and physical environment, replacing fragmented processes with an integrated clearance system,” he said.
Adeniyi disclosed that the OSS platform aims to significantly cut cargo dwell time and meet a 48-hour clearance target, a marked improvement from the current average dwell time of 21 days.
Within the integrated framework.
He said the initiative seeks to reduce clearance time by eliminating duplicated reviews and sequential inspections, Lower compliance costs by minimising physical interfaces and discretionary interventions, Strengthen revenue assurance through improved profiling and intelligence integration, Enhance transparency via digital audit trails and systematic performance monitoring; and Align post-clearance interventions with international best practices.
“These outcomes align with global evidence under the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement, which estimates that effective implementation can reduce trade costs in developing economies by over 14 per cent,” he noted.
The CGC linked the OSS and paperless reform to Nigeria’s broader business climate reforms under Executive Order 001 and the Business Facilitation Act, as well as ongoing support for the National Single Window project expected to be formally launched by the end of the first quarter of 2026.
According to him, the reforms are in line with the “One Government” directive and reflect the administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“Under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, this has become our tradition—delivering meaningful reforms that demonstrate care, reliability, and accountability,” Adeniyi said.
He stressed that border efficiency is directly linked to national competitiveness.
“When border processes function efficiently, industries become more competitive, employment opportunities expand, and national productivity is strengthened,” he added.
Describing the OSS engagement as the beginning of an ongoing reform process, the Customs boss assured stakeholders that performance data, feedback and emerging technologies would continuously shape refinements to the system.
“This platform is a deliberate shift from fragmented interventions to coordinated governance, from discretion to data, and from isolated actions to collective responsibility,” he said.
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