adsNigeria’s National Single Window project may face legal and operational hurdles unless the government urgently creates a dedicated legal framework to support it, maritime lawyers and trade experts have warned.
At the Nigerian Maritime Law Association meeting in Lagos, experts argued that while the trade digitisation initiative could help tackle longstanding inefficiencies at Nigerian ports, its long-term viability depends on legislation that clearly defines how it should operate, who should drive it and how disputes, liabilities and inter-agency conflicts would be resolved.
Mike Igbokwe, president of the Association, said the project should be backed either by a standalone Act of the National Assembly or amendments to existing legislation such as the Business Facilitation Act.
“Our decision is that there should be a legal framework. That will be used to drive the process,” Igbokwe said.
He warned that implementation without a dedicated law could expose the project to litigation from stakeholders who may challenge attempts to compel compliance.adsads
