The Federal Government introduced single window system to eliminate corruption and bureaucracy in the shipping, the Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, has said.
Amaechi stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja.
“President has approved single window; single window will eliminate corruption and bureaucracy.
“So, as soon as you take off from the point of export, we know if you are part of the single window; all the information we need to have, everybody will have it.
“The port health activities will have, customs will have, NPA, everybody; so you will just see a situation where all the information is before everybody open and transparent.
“So bureaucracy will cease; if corruption does not cease, it will reduce.
“But I wonder who will be that courageous to see an open field everybody is involved and demand money.
“So it will be difficult to be corrupt in that kind of system. If you eliminate corruption and eliminate time wasting or bureaucracy then people will do business with you.
“If you don’t eliminate that, then you have problems; people would continue to go to Lome and Cotonou seaport no matter how small they are.’’`
He said that with the single window system, shippers would not need to go to the seaport because all payment would be made online.
“You don’t have to be at the port and you don’t have to move from one desk to another because it is ICT.
“As soon as you pay it shows; it shows you have paid in NPA and other places.
According to him, the single window system eliminates physical contact with anybody and thereby eliminates corruption.
He said that with the introduction of ICT in shipping, everything would be made transparent and officers would not be able to extort shippers at the port.