The Nigeria Customs Service, NCS has reaffirmed its commitment to deepening collaboration with the African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA Secretariat to strengthen intra-African trade, enhance data accuracy and address structural challenges impeding trade integration across the continent.
The Comptroller-General of NCS, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, made this known during a courtesy visit to the AfCFTA Secretariat in Accra, Ghana, where he held strategic discussions with senior officials on advancing Customs efficiency and continental trade facilitation.
Speaking during the meeting, the Customs chief commended the AfCFTA Secretariat for its continued leadership in mobilising key stakeholders including Customs administrations, development partners, and private sector actors to realise Africa’s full trade potential.
He noted that the Secretariat’s collaboration has provided a clear roadmap for the upcoming Customs–Partnership for African Cooperation in Trade (C-PACT) Conference, scheduled to hold in Abuja from November 17 to 19, 2025.
“The AfCFTA Secretariat has been beneficial in mobilising African Customs and economic operators. We now have a clear direction in which we want to go during the meeting in Abuja,” Adeniyi said.
He noted that one of the major outcomes of the ongoing engagements is the collective agreement that Customs administrations must take the lead in addressing deficiencies in trade data across the continent, a challenge he pledged to tackle head-on.
“Customs needs to take the front role in addressing trade data deficiencies across Africa. This is a challenge I have accepted to play, working with my colleagues,” he stated.
Adeniyi further underscored the need to strengthen the existing AfCFTA Customs coordination framework, ensuring that institutional partnerships are sustained beyond individual administrations.
“Once the Customs Pact is institutionalised, it should function effectively within the AfCFTA framework to drive sustainable trade facilitation,” he added.
He expressed optimism that the forthcoming C-PACT Conference would set a new benchmark for inter-Customs collaboration, data integration, and policy consistency in Africa.
In his remarks, the Secretary-General of the AfCFTA, Wamkele Mene, commended the Nigeria Customs Service for its leadership and commitment to regional trade integration.
Mene identified weak logistics infrastructure, high transportation costs, and limited inter-agency coordination as persistent challenges to trade growth in Africa. He assured that the Secretariat is working closely with key stakeholders including Customs administrations and ministries of trade to address these constraints.
He disclosed that the Secretariat is considering institutionalising the C-PACT Conference as an annual event to maintain momentum on Customs cooperation and data harmonisation across Africa.
The AfCFTA chief also referenced the Secretariat’s Memorandum of Understanding with the World Customs Organisation (WCO), which aims to strengthen private sector inclusion, expand the use of electronic certificates of origin, and develop a Single Bond Guarantee Scheme to improve transit operations under the AfCFTA framework.
“Customs remains central to the AfCFTA’s success. Their active participation is critical in shaping the continent’s trade data systems, AEO recognition frameworks, and overall trade statistics management,” Mene emphasised.