General
Nigeria to Become Top 3 Most Efficient Trade Gateways in Africa 2026
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria is intensifying efforts to make its ports among the best three in Africa by the end of next year through the implementation of the National Single Window.
The Vice-President, Mr Kashim Shettima, said this on Thursday during the second meeting of the Ports and Customs Efficiency Committee at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Mr Shettima explained that the policy aims to create a single platform to harmonise documentation, minimise human contact, and bring full transparency to the cargo clearance process, adding that it will be a game changer at the ports.
He noted that the target was to reduce average cargo clearance time from 21 days to less than seven days by the end of 2026, saying the policy will position Nigerian ports among the top three most potent trade corridors in Africa.
“By the end of 2026, we aim to reduce average cargo clearance time in Nigeria to under seven days and to position our ports among the top three most efficient trade gateways on the continent,” he said.
“The forthcoming implementation of the National Single Window in the first quarter of next year will be a game changer, a single platform that harmonises documentation, minimises human contact, and brings full transparency to the cargo clearance process,” he added.
Mr Shettima directed the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), and other relevant agencies to come up with a roadmap on how to make Nigeria’s weights and measures framework effective.
He said the target is to improve port operations, make cargo clearance faster and more efficient by reducing average cargo clearance time from 21 days to less than seven days by the end of 2026.
Mr Shettima expressed dismay over cargo dwell time at Nigeria’s major ports” currently averages between 18 to 21 days.
“This is compared to Ghana and Cotonou, Benin Republic, where it takes five to seven days and just four days respectively.
“The cost of clearing goods in Nigeria is estimated to be 30 per cent higher than in many of our regional peers.”
According to him, the nation’s ports record cargo dwell times 475 per cent above the global average benchmark.
“These inefficiencies are not just statistics; they are symptoms of an economic ailment that costs us investments, drives up consumer prices, and weakens our export competitiveness.
“We simply cannot afford to continue down this path,” he noted.
He also expressed optimism that the Executive Order on Joint Physical Inspection currently before President Bola Tinubu, “stands as one of the boldest and most decisive steps toward reversing these trends.
“It marks the dawn of a new era, an era where agencies work together, where systems speak a common language, and where traders and investors can depend on predictability, transparency, and speed,” he added.
He demanded synergy among the NPA, NCS, NAFDAC, SON, NIS and other relevant agencies, saying that the era of working in silo was over.
“But no reform succeeds without ownership. Every agency represented here, the NPA, NCS, NAFDAC, NDLEA, SON and Immigration, the Quarantine Service, as well as all our partners, must see ourselves not as isolated operators, but as links in a single, integrated value chain.
“The era of siloed operations must end. Inter-agency rivalry must give way to inter-agency synergy.
“We are only as efficient as our collaboration allows, and our success will depend not only on what we do individually, but on what we achieve together,” Mr Shettima said.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
On Monday, January 26, 2026, President Bola Tinubu will leave Abuja for Türkiye for a state visit aimed at “strengthening the existing cordial relations between the two countries and exploring further areas of cooperation in security, education, social development, innovation, and aviation.”
This is according to a statement issued on Sunday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga.
The president’s spokesman disclosed that the visit is to reciprocate an official two-day visit of Turkish President, Mr Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to Nigeria on October 19, 2021.
Mr Tinubu, according to the statement, will be going to European nation along with other senior government officials, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Yusuf Tuggar; the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Lateef Fagbemi (SAN); the Minister of Defence, Mr Christopher Musa; and the chairman of the House Committee on Defence, Mr Jimi Benson.
Others on the entourage of the president are the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Ms Imaan Suleiman-Ibrahim; the Minister of Interior, Mr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo; the Minister of Culture and Creative Economy, Ms Hannatu Musawa; the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mr Nuhu Ribadu; and the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Mr Mohammed Mohammed.
During the visit, both countries will engage in strategic political and diplomatic discussions on shared values in finance, communication, trade and investment.
The agenda will include meetings between high-ranking officials of both nations and the signing of memoranda of understanding (MoUs) in scientific research, energy, technical cooperation, media and communications, military cooperation and protocol, among others.
A business forum will bring together investors from both countries to explore areas of interest during the visit, with Mr Tinubu expected to return to Nigeria afterwards.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Over 120 malnourished children in Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State have been given nutritional support, medical screening, and caregiver education.
This was made possible through an initiative known as the Project BLOOM (Bringing Life to Our Overlooked Minors) put together by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Group Plc in partnership with the Lagos State government and the Health Emergency Initiative (HEI).
NGX Group staff volunteers worked alongside Lagos State health workers and HEI facilitators during the outreach, assisting with screenings and data recording. Structured follow-up visits are scheduled after four weeks to monitor recovery and provide extended care where necessary.
The Alimosho programme was the third under the initiative. The beneficiaries were hosted at the Lagos State Health District I.
Earlier, the initiative benefitted residents of Yaba and Ajegunle. Over 320 children and 300 caregivers were reached, with monitoring data showing that more than 50 per cent of beneficiaries in the first two phases entered recovery.
The chief executive of NGX Group, Mr Temi Popoola, linked the initiative to broader economic resilience, saying, “Sustainable capital markets are built on strong social foundations. The recovery rates we see with Project BLOOM prove that targeted, collaborative action between the public sector, civil society, and the private sector can deliver tangible impact.”
Also, the Executive Director of HEI, Achunine Pascal, said child malnutrition remains a major contributor to under-five mortality in Nigeria, adding that Project BLOOM is designed to go beyond immediate food support through structured follow-up and continued care.
On his part, the chairman of Alimosho Local Government Area, Mr Akinpelu Ibrahim Johnson, said the initiative supports the council’s long-term strategy for improving child nutrition through early detection, prevention, and effective management of malnutrition.
Representing the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Health District I, Dr. Solomon Adeyanju commended NGX Group for its commitment to child health, describing Project BLOOM as a valuable complement to the state’s primary healthcare efforts.
With additional outreaches planned, the partners reaffirmed their commitment to reducing preventable child mortality while strengthening the social foundations required for sustainable economic growth.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has dragged the Minister of Power, Mr Adebayo Adelabu, and the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) Plc before a Federal High Court in Abuja over their failure to account for an alleged missing N128 billion public funds.
The group in a statement on Sunday by its Deputy Director, Mr Kolawole Oluwadare, said the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/143/2026, was filed last Friday following allegations contained in the Auditor-General of the Federation’s report published on September 9, 2025.
In the lawsuit, SERAP is seeking an order of mandamus compelling Mr Adelabu and NBET to account for what it described as “the missing or diverted N128bn from the Ministry of Power and NBET.”
The organisation is also asking the court to direct the defendants to disclose “details of how the missing or diverted N128bn was spent, including the dates of disbursement and the purported beneficiaries or contractors who received the money.”
SERAP further urged the court to compel the disclosure of “the full names, official designations and offices of all public officers who authorised, approved or otherwise participated in the release of the missing or diverted N128bn.”
According to the group, Nigerians have continued to suffer the consequences of corruption in the electricity sector, particularly amid recurring grid collapses and erratic power supply.
“Nigerians continue to pay the price for the widespread and grand corruption in the power sector,” the group said, adding that “there is a legitimate public interest in ensuring justice and accountability for these grave allegations,” arguing that granting the reliefs sought would help tackle systemic failures in the sector.
“Granting the reliefs sought would contribute to tackling corruption in the power sector and addressing the persistent breakdown of transmission lines in the country, as well as improving access of Nigerians to regular and uninterrupted electricity supply,” it stated.
The group further warned that corruption has deepened hardship for electricity consumers, noting that “ordinary Nigerians continue to pay the price for corruption in the electricity sector—staying in darkness, but still made to pay crazy electricity bills.”
The suit, filed by SERAP’s lawyers, Mr Kolawole Oluwadare, Ms Kehinde Oyewumi and Mr Andrew Nwankwo, relied heavily on findings from the Auditor-General’s 2022 audited report, which detailed multiple alleged financial irregularities involving the Ministry of Power and NBET.
The organisation stressed that public institutions are legally bound to ensure transparency, accountability, and the abolition of corrupt practices.
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.
Business Post had reported earlier that Mr Adelabu claimed that the missing money happened prior to his appointment as the minister of power.
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