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Growing frustration is mounting among customs brokers, importers and other stakeholders over the operational challenges associated with the Nigeria Customs Service’s B’Odogwu Trade Portal, with industry operators lamenting that persistent system failures are undermining trade facilitation and increasing the cost of doing business at the nation’s seaports.
Stakeholders say that while the digital platform was introduced to modernise cargo clearance processes, its current performance has fallen short of expectations due to prolonged processing delays, the inability to accommodate multiple data inputs, and the system’s failure to properly recognise declarations involving used items.
These concerns were highlighted in an open letter addressed to the Comptroller-General of Customs, Dr. Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, by maritime expert and former Acting President of the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Dr. Kayode Farinto Kayode, who urged the Customs leadership to urgently review and redesign the platform to meet the realities of international trade.
According to the veteran freight forwarder, the inability to seamlessly process consignments has resulted in avoidable cargo clearance delays, forcing importers to incur additional demurrage and storage charges as containers remain trapped at the ports while system-related issues are being resolved.
“B’odogwu cannot process multiple documents at same time. Example, an importer with more than 1 Bill of lading cannot do same at the same time but must wait to upload one after the other and the other bill of lading can only be uploaded after the first one must have generated for Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR), this is anti-trade. It is not facilitating trade at all.
“PAAR must be shared with the agency to clear before it can be utilized. This process also adds to about 2hrs delay minimally where there is no downtime, it could be day(s) delay. Where there is down time”, Farinto said.
While commending Customs for the Initiative to have a Nigerian-owned technology in B’Odogwu, he noted the B’Odogwu platform’s inefficiencies has placed it behind NICIS II in terms of trade facilitation and ease of doing business at the ports.
Meanwhile, under B’Odogwu platform, importers of fairly used goods have continued to experience difficulties because the system reportedly does not adequately recognise used products during the declaration process.
He warned that unless the technical shortcomings are urgently addressed, the portal could erode the gains recorded in Nigeria’s ongoing port modernisation efforts and diminish the country’s competitiveness as a regional trade hub.
They further observed that B’Odogwu currently does not synchronise effectively with the National Single Window (NSW) and other critical digital platforms, thereby limiting the seamless exchange of trade information expected under a fully integrated electronic cargo clearance system.
To restore stakeholders’ confidence, industry players are calling on the Nigeria Customs Service to engage licensed customs agents and other end users in a comprehensive review of the platform.
They maintained that users who interact with the system daily are best positioned to identify operational gaps and recommend practical improvements capable of enhancing efficiency, reducing cargo dwell time and lowering the financial burden on businesses.
Among the recommendations put forward are the immediate review of the B’Odogwu portal to ensure compatibility with the National Single Window, the elimination of technical bottlenecks delaying cargo processing, and the incorporation of features that adequately capture multiple declarations and used items. Stakeholders also stressed that Customs brokers should be actively involved in refining the platform to ensure it delivers its primary objective of facilitating trade rather than creating additional obstacles.
