The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has assured importers, exporters, manufacturers and the business community that there would be no cargo clearing bureaucratic bottlenecks that often delay release at the ports with the new One-Stop-Shop (OSS) initiative.

The NCS, integrated into the B’Odogwu digital platform, is designed to handle all interventions on flagged or non-compliant declarations through a unified, collaborative and technology-driven process involving all Customs units.

Speaking yesterday at a stakeholder engagement at the Apapa Customs Command, the Zonal Coordinator, Zone A, Assistant Comptroller-General, Mohammed Babandede, said the new system would reduce cargo dwell time from 21 days to an average of 48 hours per shipment, minimise demurrage costs and foster transparency across Customs operations.

Babandede noted that the OSS would have layers of checks and interceptions outside the ports, especially vehicles on the roads by the Federal Operations Unit (FOU).

Briefing on the progress of the initiative, the Project Manager/Technical Supervisor of OSS, Apapa Command, Olawale Onigbanjo, explained that the new system is designed to eliminate redundant checks through single joint examinations and replace multiple sequential interventions with a unified approach.

Highlighting the expected outcomes, Onigbanjo noted that the OSS initiative will cut clearance time from the current average of 21 days to a 48-hour target, thereby minimising port congestion and enhancing trade facilitation.

Onigbanjo added that the project also aims to curb revenue leakages by improving the tracking of additional duties collected for the Federal Government and monitoring the value of guarantees under the OSS process.

Stakeholders, however, commended the platform while raising concerns that may likely hinder the progress of the new system in achieving its purpose.

A participating freight forwarder, Kayode Aminu, wondered if the system would eliminate the additional layers of checks and interceptions outside the ports, pointing to the Federal Operations Unit (FOU) activities as distorting trade. (THE GUARDIAN)