By Joshua Yousouph
Findings by Shipping Position Daily have revealed that cargo clearance at Lagos ports takes an average of three to five days under normal operating conditions, while network failures, multiple queries from agencies at the port and other operational bottlenecks can stretch the process to one or even two weeks.
The findings, based on interactions with key stakeholders in the ports, showed that although cargoes can be cleared within two days when all processes function seamlessly, delays often arise at different stages of the clearance chain involving shipping companies, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and terminal operators.
Recall that the 48-hour cargo clearance projection in Nigeria is an ambitious trade reform target, being driven by the Nigeria Customs Service via its One-Stop-Shop (OSS) initiative and the National Single Window (NSW) project, which were designed to compress historical clearance delays from three weeks down to 24–48 hours.
However, findings by our correspondent last week highlight the impact of digital and administrative bottlenecks on cargo dwell time at the Lagos ports, with stakeholders calling for improved network infrastructure, faster resolution of queries from port agencies and better coordination among Customs, terminal operators, shipping companies and freight forwarders.
They maintained that removing avoidable delays from the various stages of the clearance process would help reduce cargo dwell time, lower costs for importers and improve the overall efficiency of Nigeria’s port system.
Speaking with our correspondent last week, a chieftain and former Western Zone Coordinator of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Sir John Oforbike, said importers and their agents could achieve faster clearance, if all necessary documentation were prepared before the arrival of their cargo.
According to him, once the cargo arrives, the agent can capture it in the system, make the required payments and proceed with Customs processing, after which the cargo is assigned to the appropriate clearance lane.
Oforbike said where a cargo is routed through the blue lane, which does not require physical examination, the release process could be completed quickly. He added that even where physical examination is required, Customs could complete its part of the process within one day, if the examination is conducted early.
He said the entire process could be completed within three to five days, when all the parties involved work efficiently. “Everything is in stages. If you don’t finish one, then you can’t proceed to the next and you have to finish all of them. If you can match all these together, then you can carry your cargo. You get cleared between three to five days,” Oforbike said.
However, he identified Customs queries and unresolved violations as major causes of delay, noting that a query could keep a cargo at the port until the importer or agent provides the necessary clarification or makes additional payments.
He explained that unresolved violation queries could eventually result in a Demand Notice (DN), further extending the clearance timeline. Oforbike maintained that the three-to-five-day timeframe applied to both Apapa and Tin Can Island ports, provided there were no major complications or unresolved queries.
Also speaking, National Public Relations Officer of the Association of Registered Freight Forwarders of Nigeria (AREFFN), Taiwo Fatomilola, identified poor network connectivity as another major challenge affecting cargo clearance.
Fatomilola said the clearance process could ordinarily be completed in about two days when all things were equal, but network instability could double the timeframe.
He explained that the network challenge could occur even within the same Customs office, with one officer successfully processing transactions while another officer struggled to connect to the system.
According to him, the problem reduces the number of documents which officers can process within a given period and consequently creates delays for freight forwarders and importers. “The job that was supposed to take two days, but because of network issues, it will extend to four days,” Fatomilola said.
He said the challenge affected Tin Can Island and PTML, adding that PTML appeared to experience the problem more significantly.
“If there’s no network, an officer that is supposed to release 20 to 30 documents in an hour may only be able to release two documents. That’s just the problem. Instead of the normal two days, it’s expected to be four days,” he said.
Meanwhile, Southwest Chairman of the Importers Association of Nigeria (IMAN), Mr. Joseph Ajoku, said the average clearance period experienced by many importers was between three and four days, although some cargoes could remain in the port for significantly longer periods.
Ajoku said some cargoes could be collected within three days, while others could take four days, one week or even two weeks depending on the challenges encountered during the clearance process. He noted that although two-day clearance could be possible under ideal circumstances, three to four days remained a more realistic timeframe for many importers.
“Sometimes what they do is that in three days we collect our goods, while some take three to four days, some maybe one week, while some take two weeks depending on the challenges they encountered,” he said.
