The National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents, (NCMDLCA) has observed that the current structure of the National Single Window at Nigerian seaports fall short of the globally accepted model of a true single-window platform.

“The National Single Window is not effective. What we have now is more of a multiple-window system that duplicates Customs functions,” said Lucky Amiwero, the National President of NCMDLCA.

According to him, delays in obtaining approvals from agencies such as the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) have worsened congestion and increased the cost of doing business.

He said, “A proper single window should involve single administration, single transaction, and single delivery. Once processes are harmonised at the backend, cargo clearance should be seamless.

“But importers are still required to interact separately with agencies like NAFDAC and SON. That defeats the purpose of a single-window system.”

Amiwero, disclosed that some importers now pay as much as N100,000 daily in demurrage to shipping companies and terminal operators while awaiting approvals from regulatory agencies.

Amiwero also pointed out that the Nigerian Revenue Service, which is driving the initiative, lacks the expertise required for customs and import procedures, insisting that tax administration and customs operations should remain separate.

•Faith Birol

Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned on Thursday that the oil markets could soon enter a “red zone” as global stocks deplete and as demand picks up during the summer travel season.

Birol’s comments came during a Chatham House session on the Strait of Hormuz crisis and global energy security.

Birol said that the single most important solution to the Iran war energy shock is a full and unconditional reopening of the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.

” If it fails to reopen and no new oil is coming online from the Middle East, an ongoing drawdown in global stockpiles combined with an uptick in demand during the summer travel season means oil markets “may be entering the red zone in July or August,” Birol said, without elaborating further.

The IEA has previously said the global market is facing the most severe disruption in its history. That’s despite, Birol said, the market having benefitted from being in the “fortunate” position of entering the crisis with a surplus to help absorb the shock. These stocks, however, are now eroding, Birol said.

Typically, roughly 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passes through the Strait of Hormuz, but shipping traffic has virtually halted since U.S. and Israeli-led strikes against Iran started on Feb. 28.

The IEA chief said the “biggest pain of this crisis will be felt in developing Asia and Africa,” adding that he was just as concerned about the impact of the Iran war on global food security as he was on energy security.

The Chairman of First HoldCo, Femi Otedola, said on Wednesday “From on a personal note, I’ve appealed to him (Aliko Dangote to allocate to me shares worth $100 million private placement, ahead of the Refinery’s initial public offer.”

“That’s one of the reasons I sold my stake in Geregu plant to come and invest my proceeds in the IPO of Dangote refinery.”

Otedola told journalists when he led top executives of First HoldCo on a tour of the refinery and the fertiliser plans in the Lekki free trade zone area.

The team also visited key project sites such as the jetty, a facility built by Dangote industries to receive large vessels.

The private placement is the latest announcement in the refinery’s Initial Public Offering plan, IPO expected later in the year.