The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has reaffirmed its commitment to promoting intra-African trade by deepening its partnership with the African Export-Import Bank to improve trade facilitation, strengthen customs cooperation, and accelerate the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
The renewed commitment was made during a working visit by the President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Afreximbank, George Elombi, to the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, at the Nigeria Customs Service Headquarters in Abuja on Thursday.
The meeting provided both institutions with an opportunity to assess the progress of their ongoing collaboration and identify new areas of cooperation aimed at promoting seamless cross-border trade and advancing regional economic integration.
Speaking during the visit, Adeniyi said the partnership is driven by a shared vision of unlocking Africa’s economic potential through increased trade among African countries. He noted that the collaboration has continued to deliver positive results in customs modernisation and trade facilitation through initiatives focused on harmonising customs procedures and improving the movement of goods across the continent.
According to him, the partnership is built on the belief that Africa’s economic prosperity depends largely on expanding trade within the continent.
“We are building a partnership founded on the conviction that Africa’s best trading partners are within Africa itself, and our prosperity will be built on the trade we conduct among ourselves. From C-PACT to our ongoing work on trade facilitation, we are turning that conviction into practical cooperation,” the Customs boss said.
Adeniyi further disclosed that the collaboration would support Afreximbank’s regional transit initiatives, accelerate the establishment of one-stop border posts along strategic trade corridors, and promote the adoption of international best practices in customs administration.
He added that the Nigeria Customs Service was already recording positive outcomes from the Bank’s support for regional transit systems and expressed confidence that the strengthened partnership would improve Africa’s competitiveness while creating more opportunities for legitimate trade.
On his part, Elombi commended the Nigeria Customs Service for its leadership in driving trade reforms, describing the Service’s approach as a demonstration of strong institutional commitment to transforming trade across Africa.
“It is encouraging to see the Comptroller-General taking the initiative to drive this engagement. We have the resources, and you have the will. Together, we can make this partnership work for Africa,” he said, while reaffirming Afreximbank’s commitment to supporting initiatives that facilitate trade and strengthen the implementation of the AfCFTA.
The meeting also reviewed the success of the maiden edition of the Customs Partnership for African Cooperation in Trade (C-PACT), held in Abuja in November 2025.
The initiative brought together customs administrations, development partners and private sector stakeholders to promote harmonised customs procedures, strengthen institutional capacity and improve connectivity across Africa’s trading systems.
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