The Nigerian Export Promotion Council, NEPC, has called for more efficient trade processes to strengthen Nigeria's non-oil export sector, saying increased production alone cannot make the country a leading exporter without systems that facilitate the movement of goods to international markets.
The Council said the Federal Government's National Single Window project would help reduce delays, lower business costs and improve regulatory processes by bringing trade-related documentation, permits and approvals onto a unified digital platform.
The Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of NEPC, Mrs Nonye Ayeni, represented by the Director of Trade Information, Mr Ndubueze Okeke, stated this on Thursday at the National Single Window Phase Two Export Sensitisation and Joint Stakeholders' Forum in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The National Single Window is a Federal Government digital trade platform that allows importers, exporters and other stakeholders to submit trade-related documents through a single portal, where relevant government agencies can access the information without requiring repeated submissions.
President Bola Tinubu inaugurated the initiative on April 16, 2024, at the State House, Abuja, as part of efforts to simplify import and export procedures, eliminate bureaucratic bottlenecks, reduce delays and trade costs, prevent revenue leakages and improve the ease of doing business in Nigeria.
Ayeni said Nigeria's non-oil export sector generated 6.1 billion dollars in 2025, representing an 11.5 per cent increase over the 5.46 billion dollars recorded in 2024.
She added that export volumes increased by 10 per cent to 8.02 million metric tonnes, with 281 non-oil products exported to 120 countries.
The NEPC chief executive said the performance demonstrated the country's growing export potential but underscored the need to strengthen the systems supporting international trade.
"Nigeria's ambition to become a leading non-oil exporting nation cannot be achieved by production alone. It also requires efficient systems that enable our businesses to move their products from local markets to international destinations with minimal delays, reduced costs and predictable regulatory processes," she said.
Ayeni disclosed that NEPC had commenced engagements and onboarding towards integrating relevant export-related processes into the National Single Window platform.
She also stressed the importance of ensuring that exporters understood the relationship between the platform, the Trade Monitoring System, TRMS, the processing of Forms NXP and NCX, and the applicable registration, permit and certification requirements.
"Our objective is to ensure a seamless transition that simplifies processes rather than creates additional burdens for businesses," she said.
The NEPC chief executive identified agriculture, fisheries, aquaculture, agro-processing and manufacturing as sectors with considerable export opportunities in Rivers State and the wider South-South region.
She urged exporters to participate actively in the technical sessions covering NEPC Exporter's Certificate registration, NSW trader registration, TRMS and the processing of Forms NXP and NCX.
The Project Director of the National Single Window, Mr Tola Fakolade, said the second phase of the project, which focuses on export processes, would commence on December 14, 2026.
Fakolade explained that the rollout would be implemented in two batches, with the first covering the issuance of export permits by regulatory agencies, including the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, SON, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, and the Federal Produce Inspection Service.
He said the second batch would cover Central Bank of Nigeria processing, which would also be conducted online.
Fakolade said the first phase, which focused mainly on the submission of licences and permits through the platform, had eliminated the need for traders to visit different agency systems to submit the same documentation.
"So instead of going to all the different programs, all the different systems, to the SON system, NAFDAC system, you come to one platform and you submit your certificate on one system," he said.
He added that the platform had helped improve compliance with regulatory requirements, following feedback from agencies that participated in the first phase.
"One of the testimonials we got from some of the agencies on the first phase is that because of the enforced compliance of the platform, it actually forces users to be compliant," he said.
Fakolade disclosed that user acceptance testing had been concluded, while end-user training was scheduled to begin on Monday, November 16, ahead of the December rollout.
He urged exporters and other stakeholders to register for the training to familiarise themselves with the new processes.
Also speaking, the Controller in charge of Modernisation at the Nigeria Customs Service, Mr Aondona Christopher Fanyam, said the Service was collaborating with other Ministries, Departments and Agencies, as well as the National Single Window Secretariat, to digitise trade documents and integrate existing applications into the platform.
Fanyam explained that the initiative would address the difficulties associated with agencies operating a combination of manual and digital documentation systems, which could affect compliance and operational efficiency.
He said the new arrangement would enable agencies to retrieve required documents electronically using reference numbers, instead of requiring traders to repeatedly submit the same information.
"Now with the digital, you only need a reference number of that documentation to be able to call that documentation from the National Single Window and use it," he said.
"National Single Window Project is an initiative of the President to ensure single submission. So by single submission, all documents are submitted in one place so any agency that needs the information picks it from that point of submission," he said.
Fanyam acknowledged that the first phase encountered challenges relating to change management, knowledge gaps and capacity building, but said the lessons learnt were being incorporated into the export phase through sensitisation and training programmes.
He also identified differences in the level of digital development among government agencies as a major challenge, explaining that the continued use of manual documentation alongside digital processes could make it difficult to ensure compliance and operational efficiency.
He said digitisation would eliminate bottlenecks associated with manual documentation, including the possibility of attaching incorrect documents.
The Customs official added that the Service and other participating agencies were working to ensure that stakeholders understood the new processes through ongoing sensitisation and training exercises.
NEPC, customs back digital reforms to boost Nigeria's non-oil exports