A fully operational National Single Window (NSW) is projected to boost customs revenue by 10-20% annually, yielding between N600 billion and N1.2 trillion in additional earnings. This projection was made by the Sea Empowerment And Research Center (SEREC) in a bulletin titled “Nigeria’s Path Toward Seamless Cargo Clearance: The Imperative of a Functional NSW”.
According to SEREC, a functional NSW would reduce cargo dwell time by 35-45%, resulting in logistics and demurrage savings of N300-400 billion annually for the private sector. Additionally, overall trade transaction costs could drop by 20-25%, enhancing Nigeria’s global logistics competitiveness index and easing the cost of doing business.
The fiscal reality underscores the urgency of getting the NSW right, with Nigeria Customs’ revenue collections growing by trillions of naira annually. A robust NSW ecosystem is projected to create over 100,000 direct and indirect jobs in ICT, logistics, and data management, and attract $2-3 billion in private logistics and maritime investments within five years.
The absence of a unified NSW would continue to push regional a competitiveness towards neighboring ports in Cotonou, Lome, and Tema, which already operate harmonized digital trade platforms. Current system inefficiencies are estimated to cost Nigeria N500-900 billion annually in unrealized revenue, administrative duplication, and lost productivity.
