From Opeyemi Muhammed
President Bola Tinubu, on Tuesday in Abuja, inaugurated the National Steering Committee of the National Single Window (NSW) project.
Inaugurating the committee in Abuja, Tinubu said the introduction of the NSW project would facilitate national and regional integration.
TheNewsZenith gathered that the NSW is a trade facilitation concept. It allows an international (cross-border) trader to submit information to a single agency.
The President said Nigeria would key into the global revenue being enjoyed by other global financial systems that are benefiting from the single window initiatives of ease-of-doing-business.
NSW reduces the process of dealing with multiple agencies in multiple locations to obtain necessary documents, permits and clearances for import or export processes.
President Tinubu said his administration would provide a conducive environment for NSW to succeed and overcome all challenges.
He added that he would empower the committee to break all barriers.
“The National Single Window is a game changer that will revolutionise the way we conduct trade by simplifying government trade compliance through a digital platform.
“We unlock the doors to economic prosperity and all other opportunities.
“This initiative will link our ports, government agencies and key stakeholders. Through it, we will create an efficient system to facilitate trade like never before.
“The benefits of this initiative are immense. Paperless trade alone is estimated to bring an annual economic benefit of around $2.7 billion.
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“Countries like Singapore, Korea, Kenya and Saudi Arabia have seen significant improvement in trade efficiency after implementing the Single Window System,” the President said.
Earlier, Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service and Chairman of the Steering Committee, Mr Zacch Adedeji, said Nigeria stands to gain more than seven per cent growth of Gross Domestic Product annually by using NSW.
Adedeji assured that the initiative would also engender collaborative business information sharing among various stakeholders in import and export business.
“This initiative will catalyze achieving an average GDP growth rate of seven per cent annually. It will also propel Nigeria to new islands of prosperity, he said.
According to him, NSW is not just a technological advancement. “It is the gateway to a more connected, efficient and transparent system that links our ports and government agencies”.
Also speaking, Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Mr Bashir Adeniyi, said the new initiative would improve trade security in Nigeria and ECOWAS sub-region.
Adeniyi remarked that the single window goes beyond revenue generation.
“It is a system of facilitating investment into the country through digital platforms accessible to all stakeholders. Part of the obligations of the Trade Facilitation Agreement includes the deployment of technologies.
“Single window is one of those tools that signatories to the agreement for them to facilitate trade. It will also help us to manage revenue better,” the Computroller -General said.
TheNewsZenith reports that members of the NSW Steering Committee were drawn from the Federal Ministries of Finance, Marine and Blue Economy, Transportation, and Industry, Trade and Investment among others.
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