The Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, has unveiled an Automated Overtime Cargo Clearance and Disposal System aimed at driving efficiency, transparency and accountability in cargo management.
The initiative was introduced on Friday during a sensitization workshop for stakeholders in Zones B and D, held at the Customs Training College, Goron Dutse, Kano.
The event was themed ‘Driving Transparency, Efficiency and Accountability in Cargo Clearance’.
Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale-Adeniyi, said the new platform was designed to tackle congestion, paperwork, bottlenecks, abandoned cargo and delays that have negatively affected economic activities.
“This initiative marks a turning point in our operations. With the Automated Overtime Cargo Clearance and Disposal System, we are demonstrating that Customs can be both a facilitator of trade and a guarantor of integrity,” Adewale-Adeniyi said.
Represented by Mrs Deborah Adeyemi, Controller in charge of Post Clearance Audit Zone B, the CGC explained that the system allows stakeholders—including consignees, customs brokers, terminal operators, and customs officers—to apply, track and receive approvals online without physical contact.
He noted that the system was backed by the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023, which provides the legal framework for electronic clearance processes, timelines for overtime cargo, and disposal consignments after 120 days through condemnation, auction or other methods.
According to him, the new platform would enhance transparency with time-stamped actions, enforce accountability through strict deadlines, improve efficiency in terminal operations and safeguard data integrity.
“The Nigeria Customs Service is not merely automating a process, we are transforming a culture. Delay, opacity and congestion are being replaced with efficiency, transparency and accountability,” he added.
In his remarks, the Customs Area Controller, Kano/Jigawa Command, Dalhatu Abubakar, assured stakeholders of the command’s readiness to eliminate overtime cargo.
“As terminal operators, with proper sensitization and capacity building, we have no reason to admit cargo as overtime in Kano. I urge you to take this opportunity seriously to achieve that,” Abubakar said.
Also speaking, Mr A.A. Abdulkadir, Chief Superintendent of Customs, Headquarters, clarified that the new platform is not an entirely new system but a digital transformation of the manual clearance process, redesigned for simplicity and efficiency.
On behalf of stakeholders, Chairman of the Clearing Agents Association, Kano, Alhaji Hafiz Rilwan, commended the CGC for the initiative and pledged full support for its successful implementation through wider sensitization.