Processing of exports at the dedicated Lilypond Port has improved significantly, reducing processing time to a few hours.
Customs Area Controller (CAC), Lilypond Export Command, Ajibola Odusanya, while interacting with members of the Maritime Reporters Association of Nigeria (MARAN) at the International Press Centre, Apapa, said his command can process exports within a few hours, but accessing the Export Processing Terminal (EPT) especially in Apapa Port is delayed due to traffic gridlock on the internal port access road.
According to Odusanya, transferring the export containers to Apapa Port has become a challenge recently, as prioriy is placed on exiting import containers out of the port.
However, Comptroller Odusanya assured that the the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and APM Terminals are working to improve on the port internal traffic.
“The NPA has contributed significantly to export facilitation by creating the Electronic Call-up System (ETO) and EPTs at the ports, but the internal port access roads would need more attention to clear up for seamless movement of export containers into the ports for outward shipping,” Comptroller Odusanya said.
In 2024, the Nigeria Customs Service and the NPA reached an agreement to make the Lilypond Port an export processing port as part of the country’s deliberate plans to improve exportation of non-oil products.
The Lilypond Port Controller explained that due to the presence of all the relevant agencies in the export port, processing of export goods have become very fast and seamless, leading to processing of about $2 billion worth of exports from the port between July and December 2024.
He said: “Since after the MoU between Customs and NPA to streamline export to Lilypond Command in July 2024 and the command became the only command processing sea bound export, we processed about $2 billion in that period betweenJuly and December, 2024.
“In February, 2025, we processed $225 million. This achievement is made possible by collaboration with other government agencies and port stakeholders.
“We now have the DSS, NDLEA, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the quarantine service dedicated to export at Lilypond Port. Now, with synergy with these sister agencies, export goods treated at Lilypond port are not stopped by any other agency on its way to Apapa or Tincan port. Such export will only be checked by Lilypond Customs officers at the port gate and not necessarily to open the container, except there is a security alert.”
He noted that the NPA and the terminal operators would not allow the ugly port access road situation in Apapa in the past to return.
“If you go to Lilypond now you will see many containers there, but the problem is not with processing of the exports in Lilypond, but the logistics aspect of moving the containers to the ports.
“Sometimes, even when you have obtained your ETO, you won’t be able to access the port. You see the trucks lined up on the road with export containers on them. We have to work on this so that we don’t return to what it was before. We have to keep working hard to maintain the sanity on the port road,” Comptroller Odusanya emphasised.
