The Federal Government will begin user acceptance testing of the second phase of the National Single Window (NSW) project next week as it moves to streamline export procedures, following the processing of 156,026 import licences and permits since the platform’s launch in March.
The Project Coordinator of the National Single Window, Tola Fakolade, disclosed this at a press briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, saying the government was working towards launching the first batch of agencies under the second phase before the end of 2026.
The second phase will focus on exports, including the centralised processing of export licences, permits and certificates, export-related forms required by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and applications for import duty exemption certificates.
Fakolade said the project team had completed the initial review of existing processes, identified gaps and developed streamlined procedures ahead of the user acceptance testing scheduled to begin next week.
He explained that the exercise would allow participating agencies and users to test the customised processes on the platform, provide feedback and recommend improvements before its deployment.
“We are starting our user acceptance testing for phase two next week, which is where we are actually bringing a sample of these agencies and some of our users to come and test the processes that have been customised and developed on the Single Window platform,” he said.
According to him, the testing would be followed by training as the project team works to meet its implementation timeline.
The National Single Window is a centralised electronic trade platform designed to integrate government agencies involved in international trade into a single system. It aims to simplify import and export procedures, eliminate duplication, improve transparency and position Nigeria as a regional trading hub.
President Bola Tinubu inaugurated the project on April 16, 2024, while its first phase went live on March 27, 2026.
Providing an update on the first phase, Fakolade said the platform had registered 12,112 importers and agents, while more than 8,000 users had received training. He added that the system had recorded 99.98 per cent uptime since its launch.
The first phase automated the submission, processing and approval of licences, permits and certificates issued by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), and Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS).
The platform also facilitates payments for relevant permits and certificates, as well as the submission of air and sea cargo manifests by airlines and shipping lines, excluding oil and gas-related operations.
Fakolade disclosed that SON had processed 104,956 documents through the platform, while NAFDAC accounted for 50,622 and NAQS recorded 398. The figures formed part of the 156,026 licences and permits processed since the system became operational.
He said the number of licences and permits issued by SON and NAFDAC had increased by between 20 and 30 per cent compared with the corresponding period before the platform’s introduction.
“The number of licences and permits that have been issued compared to the same period last year has gone up between 20 to 30 per cent. So, for us, that gives us the assurance that the Single Window is delivering, which is blocking some of the loopholes that existed before and really driving compliance in the issuance of licences and permits,” he said.
According to the project coordinator, the increase indicates that the platform is improving compliance by making it easier to process and monitor regulatory approvals.
He, however, acknowledged that the initial implementation presented challenges, particularly as some users had to adapt to the revised procedures.
Fakolade said the project team had intensified stakeholder engagement and was using feedback from importers, clearing agents and other users to improve the system.
He noted that although about 5,000 people had been trained before the platform’s launch in March, the size of Nigeria’s trading community had made it necessary to expand the training programme.
“By the time we launched in March, we had trained about 5,000 people, but I think the lesson we’ve learned there is that Nigeria is a big country. There are a lot of importers in the country, so we need to extend the reach of our training,” he said.
He added that technical challenges relating to data migration and system integration had also emerged during the transition but had since been addressed.
The second phase will be implemented in two batches, with the first scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2026 and the second for the first quarter of 2027.
The first batch will involve the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment through the Federal Produce Inspection Service and Registered Exporter System, SON, NAFDAC, and the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA).
The second batch will include the CBN, Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), NAQS, Federal Ministry of Livestock Development, Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), and Federal Ministry of Finance.
The third phase of the project is scheduled for the second half of 2027. It will cover customs declaration submissions, Form M applications and approvals, oil and gas processes, advanced risk analytics and trade visualisation systems.
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