(Princess Zahra Audu. Photo Credit: Daily Trend News)
Plans to shorten the 21-day cargo clearance period at all Nigerian ports to seven days have been alluded to by the Federal Government.
In an effort to guarantee trade efficiency, cut logistical costs, and boost Nigeria’s competitiveness, the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) has already stepped up efforts to shorten the average cargo stay time at Nigerian ports to seven days.
The Director-General of PEBEC, Princess Zahra Audu, disclosed this to newsmen on Tuesday at the State House, Abuja, stating that the council had identified prolonged cargo clearance as a major constraint to imports and exports, particularly when compared with neighbouring countries like Benin Republic and Ghana.
She explained that a committee set up on the matter was tasked with reducing cargo dwell time from 21 days to seven days, noting that this had been pursued through initiatives such as joint inspection, designed to ensure that once cargo berths, all relevant agencies coordinate efforts to clear the ship promptly and shorten turnaround time.
She added that the coordinated inspection effort had also seen a shift away from physical inspection of cargo toward the use of scanners, which has improved efficiency, with the overall goal being to ensure containers arriving in Nigeria are cleared within seven days, describing it as a work in progress.
Audu said PEBEC established a committee under the Office of the Vice President in April 2026, which is currently coordinating Ministries, Departments and Agencies operating within the ports corridor to streamline the movement of imports and exports.
She noted that the Federal Government has introduced joint cargo inspections and is replacing physical examinations with scanner-based inspections to improve efficiency and reduce vessel and container turnaround time.
She also identified the National Single Window as a key component of the reform, explaining that it has brought relevant agencies onto a unified digital platform that simplifies documentation required for importing and exporting goods, placing them on one mainstream software infrastructure to enable seamless coordination.
Audu further disclosed that PEBEC had conducted visits to the ports in January, March and July to ensure that illegal checkpoints previously removed along the Apapa and Tin Can Island corridors had not resurfaced, noting that these corridors remain free of illegal checkpoints and that the council intends to sustain this, with the next visit scheduled for September and the exercise to continue over the next three years until it becomes standard practice.
The PEBEC boss stated that the council had also strengthened interaction between businesses and government through the ReportGov platform, which links businesses directly with 69 business-facing ministries, departments and agencies.
She said the platform, relaunched in June 2025, had evolved from a mere complaint channel into a government-wide grievance resolution and accountability mechanism that allows businesses to escalate challenges and receive responses within 72 hours.
Adding that physical ReportGov kiosks have also been deployed at major airports in Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt, as well as at the Apapa and Tin Can seaports, to bring government services closer to businesses.
She noted that the 69 business-facing MDAs have been organised into clusters to reduce duplication, improve coordination and enable faster responses to businesses, citing the Memorandum of Understanding between the Standards Organisation of Nigeria and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control as one outcome of the initiative, which she said would reduce repeated certification processes and ease the burden on industries.
Audu stated that the overall objective is to simplify the process of doing business in Nigeria and ensure the country operates at optimum capacity, describing the current push for accountability as a significant shift given that such responsiveness was lacking before President Bola Tinubu took office, adding that efforts have since been made to bring government closer to businesses by ensuring all business-facing MDAs are able to engage effectively.
She explained that at the subnational level, ease-of-doing-business councils have been activated to strengthen coordination between federal and state governments, advance the digitalisation of public services, and support the establishment of one-stop business centres.
Audu added that PEBEC is working with the World Bank through the State Action on Business Enabling Reforms Programme to help states access funding and implement reforms in digital connectivity, land administration and the harmonisation of taxes and levies.
She disclosed that a 750 million dollar fund exists for states under the programme, noting that PEBEC is in the programme’s final year and is still working with states to help them access the fund directly from the World Bank, stressing that since it is a loan and not free money, states need to be properly prepared to implement it for the right purposes so they are able to repay it.
She further disclosed that small claims courts have now been established in all states to provide affordable dispute-resolution mechanisms for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, noting that this is significant for MSMEs since they can pursue eligible claims without necessarily engaging a lawyer.
Audu added that the council is also promoting alternative dispute resolution and specialised commercial courts to ensure business-related disputes are resolved within shorter periods, stating that PEBEC will continue to address barriers such as limited access to finance, duplication of responsibilities and inter-agency conflicts, while developing digital one-stop shops and launching the Enable Her project to support informal businesses in transitioning into the formal economy.
