From Atiku Sarki, Abuja
The Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Wamkele Mene, has commended the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) for its development of indigenous digital technology, describing the innovation as capable of transforming customs administration across Africa.
Mene also expressed the readiness of AfCFTA to collaborate with the NCS to replicate Nigeria’s digital innovations in other African countries.
He made the remarks during a recent working visit to the Nigeria Customs Service Headquarters in Maitama, Abuja, where he described the Service’s technology-driven reforms as a practical African solution to longstanding challenges in trade facilitation, revenue collection and border management.
The AfCFTA Secretary-General noted that several African countries still depend heavily on manual customs processes, which, he said, contribute to revenue leakages, border delays and limited intra-African trade.
He stressed that Nigeria’s technological advancement provides a sustainable model that could help strengthen customs administration and facilitate trade across the continent.
Mene said: “What we have seen today is truly state-of-the-art. I sincerely congratulate the NCS for what it has achieved within such a short period.
“We would like to work together and learn from what Nigeria has accomplished because this innovation has inherent benefits not only for Nigeria, but for the entire African continent.”
He further described the Nigeria Customs Service’s data centre as a strategic continental asset that could support African countries lacking the resources to establish similar infrastructure.
According to him, the facility demonstrates Africa’s growing capacity to develop, manage and deploy critical digital infrastructure using indigenous expertise.
Responding, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, thanked the AfCFTA Secretary-General for recognising the Service’s modernisation efforts.
Adeniyi reaffirmed the NCS’s commitment to advancing technology that reflects Africa’s unique trade realities while supporting the objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement.
“We sincerely appreciate your passion for promoting intra-African trade and strengthening the interconnectivity of customs systems across the continent.
“We are not done yet. We will continue to expand the frontiers of innovation, learning from global best practices while developing solutions that advance the peculiar interests of the African continent,” he said.
The Comptroller-General added that the Service would continue to collaborate with AfCFTA and other African customs administrations to deepen digital integration, facilitate legitimate trade and strengthen regional economic cooperation.
He noted that the commendation from the continental trade body had further reinforced the NCS’s resolve to sustain its ongoing modernisation agenda.
