The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Adewale Adeniyi, has warned traders to avoid circumventing the National Single Window platform ahead of the planned deployment of the platform on Friday.

Adeniyi gave the warning on Tuesday in Lagos during the official go-live ceremony of the NSW platform.

Adeniyi, who was represented at the event by the Deputy Controller-General of Customs in charge of Information Communication Technology and Modernisation, Oluyomi Adebakin, reiterated that with the deployment of NSW, cargoes would be released within 48 hours.

He maintained that traders who do it right will get immediate results.

“You know, when you talk about a single window, you talk about a one-stop shop, where your documentation will be presented, but I want to emphasise that all the traders have to do it right. Where they have problems is when they want to circumvent the system. If you go ahead to ask or to sample the opinion of some of these traders – those that are doing it right – they are getting results already.

 So, it is just for Nigerians or the traders to get it right and to know that they do not have to circumvent the system, and if they do it right, go by the right documentation, and go by what the system is asking them, I promise you, within 48 hours, they will have their goods delivered,” Adeniyi said.

He added that the B’Odogwu earlier deployed by the Service has formed a very strong pillar for the NSW to thrive on.

“This has initially unified many operations, and, particularly, many other stakeholders have been integrated into our platform, into our system. And this has really formed a very strong pillar or basis for a single window to thrive on. And I want sincerely to say, since the beginning of the programme, the project, we have been working endlessly together,” he stressed.