From Atiku Sarki, Abuja
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and the Cameroon Customs Administration have launched a joint assessment of the Ekok-Mfum One-Stop Border Post (OSBP) to eliminate cross-border trade barriers, strengthen border security and promote regional economic integration.
In a statement issued in Abuja, the Nigeria Customs Service said the high-level exercise was held recently under the theme, “Leveraging the Nigeria Customs Service Trade Modernisation Project to Advance Seamless Cross-Border Trade and Shared Prosperity.”
The exercise brought together customs chiefs, technical experts, security agencies, development partners and local community leaders from both countries.
Speaking at the event, the Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC), Adewale Adeniyi, highlighted the longstanding partnership between the two customs administrations.
He noted that despite the close geographical proximity between Nigeria and Cameroon, movement across the border remains unnecessarily challenging.
“We are not building from nothing. We are taking something that works between the two of us and asking whether it can be made to work for the region and hopefully for our continent,” Adeniyi stated.
He also acknowledged the support of key regional and international institutions, including the African Development Bank, ECOWAS, ECCAS, Afreximbank and the AfCFTA Secretariat.
Adeniyi further revealed that officials from both customs administrations recently conducted a study tour of the Beitbridge Border Post between South Africa and Zimbabwe to benchmark international best practices.
He said technical teams were now working to finalise a joint operational agreement, which is expected to be signed at the upcoming C-PACT conference.
The Director-General of Cameroon Customs, Fongod Nuvaga, described the assessment as the first concrete step towards unified border operations.
He urged both sides to prioritise real-time data sharing and joint risk-management systems to ensure that cargo and travellers are processed once rather than subjected to duplicate checks.
The event concluded with the launch of the Mfum-Ekok Border Modernisation Initiative.
Driven by trade technology experts, the initiative aims to digitise customs workflows, optimise physical infrastructure and unlock new economic opportunities in line with the objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
