The Customs Consultative Committee (CCC) has backed the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) as it moves to cut cargo clearance time at the ports by 40 per cent, a reform driven by digital integration and projected to unlock up to N3 trillion in annual cost savings for the economy.
The CCC threw its weight behind the initiative, describing it as a data-driven shift that could reposition the country’s ports within global supply chains, reduce demurrage losses and hardwire efficiency into customs administration through deeper digital integration.
The support follows the recent unveiling of the Time Release Study (TRS) by Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, at the 2026 World Customs Day celebration on January 26.
The study, conducted at Tin Can Island Port with technical backing from the World Customs Organisation (WCO), quantified how coordinated reforms across agencies could dramatically shorten cargo dwell time.
Speaking in an interview, CCC’s Secretary Dr Eugene Nweke, said the findings mark a transition point for Nigeria’s trade ecosystem—from merely measuring delays to converting data into economic impact.
“In an era where competitiveness is measured in hours, not intentions, the TRS positions the NCS as a modern customs administration capable of diagnosing bottlenecks with precision,” he said.
The TRS, a globally recognised customs performance tool, measures how long it takes cargo to move from arrival to final release at ports and border points. According to the Tin Can Island findings, harmonised digital processes and stronger inter-agency coordination alone could deliver a 40 per cent reduction in clearance time, freeing capital trapped in delays and improving supply-chain predictability.
Nweke cautioned, however, that the study must not be misinterpreted as an indictment of institutions.
“For the NCS to achieve its reforms, the TRS should be seen as a diagnostic tool, not a fault-finding exercise; and a source of process intelligence, not institutional blame,” he said.
From a maritime business perspective, the implications extend beyond customs operations. Faster cargo turnaround, he said, directly influences vessel scheduling, terminal productivity, freight rates and Nigeria’s attractiveness as a trans-shipment and destination market in West and Central Africa.
According to Nweke, the TRS aligns squarely with Adeniyi’s reform pillars, particularly trade facilitation and port efficiency.
“It does that by identifying systemic dwell-time drivers, ease of doing business through measurable improvement indicators, alongside integrity and transparency by reducing discretionary bottlenecks,” he said.
He added that the real value of the study lies not in the data itself but in the institutional response it triggers—policy refinement, process simplification, automation optimisation and structured stakeholder compliance education.
“Without this bridge, even the best data becomes a missed opportunity,” Nweke said.
The CCC also argued that embedding TRS benchmarks into management scorecards and key performance indicators could strengthen revenue performance, accountability and reporting to oversight bodies, including the Presidency, the Ministry of Finance and international development partners.
“The WCO-endorsed TRS is not an end in itself. It is a strategic national asset. When leadership drives the response and collaboration is structured rather than noisy, measurement translates into progress,” Nweke said.
He added: “As Nigeria deepens its trade facilitation and port efficiency reforms, the message is clear that measurement creates clarity and leadership turns clarity into progress.”
At the unveiling, Adeniyi described the TRS as a cornerstone of Customs’ modernisation agenda, aimed at making Nigeria’s trade gateways “secure, efficient, predictable and globally competitive.”
He said the service would institutionalise the TRS as a continuous diagnostic tool rather than a one-off exercise, signalling a long-term commitment to evidence-based reform in port operations.
For shipping lines, terminal operators and cargo owners, the success of the 40 per cent clearance-time cut could mark the difference between the country remaining a high-cost port environment, or emerging as a regional logistics hub with measurable efficiency gains.
