The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Adewale Adeniyi, has restated the Service’s dedication to deepening collaboration with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, with a focus on enhancing trade integration, improving data reliability, and resolving structural bottlenecks that limit intra-African commerce.
Adeniyi made the remarks on Monday during a courtesy visit to the AfCFTA Secretariat in Accra, Ghana, where he held strategic talks with senior officials on advancing Customs efficiency and supporting the successful rollout of AfCFTA’s policy objectives.
Commending the Secretariat’s role in fostering continental engagement, Adeniyi noted that its guidance had been instrumental in shaping the agenda for the upcoming Customs–Partnership for African Cooperation in Trade (C-PACT) conference. The event, scheduled for November 17 to 19, 2025, in Abuja, will serve as a key platform for addressing trade facilitation challenges and aligning Customs operations across Africa.
“The AfCFTA Secretariat has been beneficial in mobilising African Customs and economic operators. We have received a concept note from the Secretariat and have engaged in a series of meetings. We now have a clear direction in which we want to go during the meeting in Abuja on November 17,” Adeniyi said.
Adeniyi underscored the urgent need for Customs administrations to take the lead in resolving data deficiencies that have long hindered Africa’s trade competitiveness. He pledged the NCS’s readiness to collaborate with counterparts across the continent in improving data transparency and fostering seamless trade flows.
He also called for the institutional strengthening of the Customs leadership framework established by the AfCFTA, arguing that a unified and consistent policy approach is essential for driving sustainable structural reforms.
Responding, the Secretary-General of AfCFTA, Wamkele Mene, praised the NCS for its proactive role in advancing continental customs cooperation. He acknowledged the ongoing challenges of high logistics costs, weak infrastructure, and fragmented inter-agency coordination, reaffirming the Secretariat’s commitment to engaging governments, private sector actors, and Customs authorities in developing holistic solutions.
Mene also disclosed that the AfCFTA Secretariat is considering making the C-PACT conference an annual event, hoping to sustain dialogue on Customs reform and data integration. He further cited the ongoing partnership with the World Customs Organisation (WCO), aimed at boosting private sector participation and implementing electronic certificates of origin across Africa.
With discussions underway on establishing a Single Bond Guarantee Scheme to aid the AfCFTA’s transit framework, Mene stressed the critical importance of Customs leadership in shaping the continent’s trade data systems, Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) recognition, and trade facilitation architecture.
The Abuja C-PACT conference is expected to bring together Customs chiefs, trade ministers, logistics providers, and development partners, setting a new benchmark for data-driven and coordinated African trade governance.
