Cargo disruption: Halt full deployment of NSW and adopt controlled rollout, SEREC advises FG

By Gboyega Oni

The Sea Empowerment and Research Center (SEREC) has advised the Federal Government of Nigeria to urgently halt the full-scale deployment of the National Single Window (NSW) following the disruptions in cargo clearance and adopt a controlled, phased stabilisation and rollout strategy, ensuring continuity of trade while restoring system integrity and stakeholder confidence.

The SEREC call is as a result of severe operational disruptions, including the inability to process cargo declarations, escalating port congestion, and rising demurrage and storage costs, caused by the full deployment of the NSW.

The National Single Window (NSW) platform was recently by the Federal Government of Nigeria across Nigerian ports with a view to synchronize import and export documentations in the port for efficiency.

In a position paper released by the Head of Research, Forwarder Eugene Nweke Rff, the Centre maintained that the despite the teething problems, “this development is not a failure of reform policy but a consequence of premature, non-phased implementation lacking adequate stakeholder integration and system readiness validation.

“However, the current implementation model—executed simultaneously across major and minor ports—has resulted in: system-wide transactional paralysis, accumulation of cargo at terminals, increased cost burdens on importers and exporters, and erosion of stakeholder confidence.”

The key causes of the disruption in the NSW, observed by SEREC, were absence of phased Implementation and the nationwide deployment without: pilot testing at low-traffic ports, incremental validation of operational modules and controlled migration strategy.

The Centre also observed regulatory and legal gaps as related to enforceable compliance framework, limited authority of regulatory bodies over international operators and absence of binding operational protocols.

On the economic and operational impact the disruption, the Centre noted that demurrage and storage charges have escalated as the cost of doing business increased with a significant risk of inflationary pressure on imported goods and potential revenue leakages.

“Nigeria’s pursuit of the National Single Window is necessary and overdue, but its current challenges underscore a critical lesson of a digital reform without structured implementation sequencing will disrupt, rather than enhance, trade efficiency.

“The focus must therefore shift from continuation versus suspension to stabilisation and structured deployment,” said the Center, calling for a temporary use of parallel legacy systems for cargo declarations while maintaining the NSW in controlled testing mode, granting of temporary Cost Relief Measures.

It also called for suspension of demurrage and storage charges linked to system delays, issue regulatory directives to shipping lines and terminal operators, establish a multi-agency Crisis Coordination Centre.

“The National Single Window remains a transformative reform with the potential to reposition Nigeria’s trade ecosystem. However, its success depends not on ambition alone, but on methodical execution, stakeholder alignment, and adaptive implementation.

“Nigeria must not abandon the reform—but must urgently redesign its implementation pathway.

“A structured transition from disruption to stability will not only restore confidence but also ensure that the NSW achieves its intended objectives of efficiency, transparency, and economic competitiveness,” SEREC submitted.