Importers and customs clearing agents across Nigeria are expressing growing concern over escalating demurrage charges at seaports, as delays linked to the National Single Window (NSW) platform continue to slow cargo clearance operations.
Stakeholders say prolonged approval processes from regulatory agencies are forcing importers to incur daily storage and detention charges, significantly increasing the cost of doing business within the maritime sector.
Brandspur Banking News Desk reports that industry operators have attributed the situation to inefficiencies in the NSW implementation, alleging that importers now pay as much as N100,000 per day in demurrage while awaiting documentation approvals from agencies involved in cargo processing.
The National President of the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA), Lucky Amiwero, said the current system has failed to deliver the efficiency expected of a unified port clearance platform, arguing that it has instead created multiple procedural bottlenecks.
He explained that delays from agencies such as the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) are contributing significantly to cargo congestion at terminals, with shipments sometimes held for weeks before clearance is completed.
Amiwero further stated that the structure of the National Single Window does not reflect a true single-window model, noting that importers are still required to process approvals separately through multiple regulatory bodies, which defeats the purpose of system integration.
He also questioned the administrative alignment of the initiative, arguing that customs operations require specialised expertise that differs from general tax administration functions.
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According to him, the backlog in regulatory approvals has created severe financial pressure on importers, many of whom are now forced to absorb substantial demurrage costs while their goods remain trapped at ports.
Responding to the concerns, the Director of Communications for the National Single Window, Tola Fakolade, said the platform was not designed to guarantee instant approvals but to create a unified digital entry point for documentation processing.
He noted that the system is still undergoing implementation phases and acknowledged that legacy backlogs within some regulatory agencies are contributing to current delays.
Fakolade added that efforts are ongoing to clear pending applications, particularly within agencies such as NAFDAC, while improving coordination across the port clearance ecosystem.
The ongoing tensions highlight continued challenges in Nigeria’s efforts to modernise port operations and reduce trade friction through digital integration.
