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The Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, MFR, has commissioned the Lagos Free Zone Green Channel at Itoke village, Ibeju Lekki, Lagos, describing the initiative as a major step towards improving trade facilitation and cargo clearance efficiency in Nigeria.
Speaking with journalists after the commissioning on Wednesday, Adeniyi said the Green Channel would significantly reduce cargo clearance time and lower the cost of doing business for importers, exporters and other port users.
He noted that the project provides a dedicated and streamlined corridor for cargo movement, allowing containers discharged from vessels at Lekki deep seaport to be transferred directly to an examination area without the delays associated with conventional port processes.
“This intervention speaks directly to trade facilitation. It reduces the time spent on cargo clearance and lowers the cost of doing business at our ports. Containers are moved immediately through a dedicated channel for examination,” Adeniyi said.
He explained that the new process replaces what he described as excessive and time-consuming procedures previously involved in accessing examination bays, adding that the system reflects growing confidence between Customs and investors operating within the Lagos Free Zone.
On revenue generation, the Customs chief said improved operational efficiency would naturally translate into higher revenue for the government, stressing that faster clearance and reduced costs encourage higher trade volumes and better compliance.
Adeniyi further explained that the Green Channel also resolves challenges related to container stacking and traceability, especially at larger ports.
He added that the corridor is referred to as a Green Channel because it is clearly marked and free of physical obstructions, however, he remarked that the status remains conditional as containers stopped along the route or subjected to intervention by another agency automatically loses its green status.
Also speaking, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Lagos Free Zone, Mrs. Adesuwa Ladoja, listed the key benefits to include faster time to market by reducing clearance timelines from between 24 and 48 hours to just a few hours, lower logistics and demurrage costs, more predictable supply chains, enhanced competitiveness for manufacturers and exporters, and greater regulatory certainty under full Customs oversight.
She described the Green Channel as a Customs-approved logistics corridor created to fast track cargo movement between Lekki Deep Seaport and the Free Zone.
Ladoja also posited that the initiative provides a strong operational advantage for companies operating within the Lagos Free Zone.
“The Green Channel enables cargo to move seamlessly from vessel to factory or warehouse through a secure and Customs controlled route,” she said.
Several maritime bigwigs graced the occasion including; the Chief Executive Officer, Lekki Free Port, Capt. Jędrzej Mierzewski; Chairman,
Tenzik Energy Limited, Nana Yakubu; Deputy National President, Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Prince Olusegun Oduntan; even as Ibeju-Lekki traditional rulers comprising nine baales were in attendance.
The Green Channel strengthens the Lagos Free Zone’s position as a major hub for manufacturing, logistics and export oriented industries, while supporting Nigeria’s trade facilitation objectives and improving the country’s competitiveness as a regional trade and production centre.
