By Muhyideen Jimoh
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‎Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Adewale Adeniyi, says hosting the maiden Customs–Partnership for African Cooperation in Trade (C-PACT) Conference in Abuja will accelerate economic growth and strengthen Africa’s intra-continental trade.
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‎He said the NCS remained committed to fast-tracking Nigeria’s full implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
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‎The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the conference, conceived by the NCS in collaboration with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), will hold from Monday to Wednesday.
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‎Briefing journalists at the State House, Abuja on Friday, Adeniyi said President Bola Tinubu had issued clear directives to deploy trade as a key driver of economic development, job creation, and poverty reduction.
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‎“President Bola Tinubu has made it very clear that the intention of his administration is to use trade to promote economic development and alleviate poverty.
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‎“Seeing the potentials we have in trade, and in the policy thrust documents, you will see specific policies that speak to the promotion of Nigeria re-establishing itself as a trade hub,” he said.
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‎The C-G said the administration’s priorities include port decongestion, infrastructure renewal, and the deployment of modern platforms such as the national single window to enhance competitiveness.
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‎“That policy thrust talks about the fact that we need to decongest our port areas.
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‎“We need to invest more in port infrastructure and join the league of customs administrations leveraging the single window.
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‎“These are all elements that speak to one major issue , we need to give more attention to intra-African trade,” he said.
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‎Adeniyi said AfCFTA implementation formed part of the key performance indicators assigned to him by the President.
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‎He added that engagements had been held with customs administrations across Africa and the AfCFTA Secretariat to ensure customs agencies played their central role in the agreement.
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‎“Last week, I was in Ghana to have a brief meeting with the Secretary-General of the AfCFTA to let him understand that customs is now ready to play its role and fulfil its mandate in the implementation of the regional economic grouping,” he said.
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‎The NCS boss said the customs authorities remained pivotal in enforcing rules of origin, granting trade preferences, and implementing the phased elimination of duties across African countries.
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‎The Customs C-G said lessons from the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme underscored the need for stronger collaboration between customs agencies, economic operators, and institutions involved in cross-border trade.
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‎Adeniyi said Tinubu’s emergence as Africa’s Champion of Intra-African Trade and Nigeria’s selection to host the next Intra-African Trade Fair had further boosted the drive by agencies such as NEPC and NEXIM to push more Nigerian exports into African markets.
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‎He confirmed that more than 30 African customs administrations had registered for the conference, several at Director-General level, while private-sector participation remained the largest bloc, including manufacturers, logistics firms, airlines, and shipping companies.
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‎Adeniyi said the conference would open with a session dedicated to the private sector to address non-tariff barriers and operational challenges affecting cross-border trade.
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‎On revenue performance, he said that while revenue collection remained key, the NCS had also strengthened its national-security and trade-facilitation roles through modern tools that enabled major interceptions of drugs, arms, and ammunition.
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‎He stated that these reforms contributed to revenue increases of 70 per cent in 2023 and 101 per cent in 2024.
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‎NAN reports that C-PACT, supported by the World Customs Organisation, seeks to reposition African trade by promoting cooperation, transparency, and agility within customs systems to expand lawful trade and drive sustainable development.
‎(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Bashir Rabe Mani