Nigeria’s Federal Government says export and import trade licence and permit approvals have risen by 20% to 30% as it rolls out measures intended to expand commerce and simplify cross-border procedures.
Tola Fakolade, project coordinator and director of Nigeria’s National Single Window (NSW), said in Abuja on Tuesday that the increase reflects early gains from the platform’s implementation.
Quick facts
- Trade licences and permits issued are up 20% to 30% from the comparable period a year earlier.
- The first implementation stage of the National Single Window has aligned procedures across government bodies.
- The government is preparing to add NIMASA and the Nigerian Ports Authority to the system.
- Officials are also reviewing Harmonised System codes to remove duplication among agencies.
Fakolade said the initial phase of the National Single Window programme had eased trade constraints by standardising processes handled by multiple public agencies.
He said the system had also closed certain gaps in the licensing and permit process while raising compliance levels. The rise in approvals versus the same period last year gave the government confidence that the platform was producing results, he said.
“The volume of licences and permits issued, compared with the corresponding period last year, has increased by between 20% and 30%,” Fakolade said. “That reassures us that the Single Window is working, closing loopholes that previously existed and strengthening compliance in issuing licences and permits.”
The NSW has removed duplicated functions across government institutions, Fakolade said, supporting the administration’s wider effort to make it easier to operate businesses in Nigeria.
The Federal Government is nearing the integration of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, known as NIMASA, and the Nigerian Ports Authority into the platform. Their inclusion is expected to further improve trade processing and facilitation.
Fakolade also pointed to the ongoing rationalisation of Harmonised System codes, used in trade classification. Authorities are mapping areas where agency responsibilities overlap and working with the relevant bodies to reduce or eliminate those duplications.
