Lack of continuity in Customs reforms poses doom for trade facilitation, Centre warns

The Sea Empowerment and Research Center (SEREC) has called for the urgent consolidation of reforms within the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), warning that progress without continuity risks institutional regression.

SEREC noted that the NCS has recorded notable progress in digital modernization, revenue growth, enforcement, and stakeholder engagement.

In a position paper on “Why Reform Continuity in the Nigeria Customs Service Must Not Fail,” the Centre acknowledged that the Service recorded some remarkable achievements and reforms especially under the incumbent Comptroller General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, in advancing modernization and aligning with legacy reform principles.

But the Centre was quick to point out that that the reform sustainability remains vulnerable to leadership changes and policy inconsistency. It emphasized that the Service must operate as a “relay institution”, where each administration strengthens inherited reforms—not resets them.

Underscoring the importance of career-driven, professional leadership in Customs administration, SEREC noted that past deviations from this model have led to disruptions and setbacks.

The Center therefore advocated for the sustained strengthening of civilian, professional Customs governance structures, reforms must remain institutionally embedded and not personality-driven.

“In 2014, the late Abdullahi Dikko Inde articulated a doctrine of legacy and continuity—urging that reforms should outlive leadership and form a foundation for successors,” said the Centre.

SEREC further advised that the reform trajectory of the Nigeria Customs Service be adopted as a model for other government agencies, particularly in: Policy continuity, Digital transformation and Institutional accountability.

To further strengthen the Service towards discharging its statutory functions, the Centre therefore recommended legislative backing for key Customs reforms, acceleration of the National Single Window implementation, establishment of independent reform audit mechanisms, strengthening of institutional memory systems, and deepening of digital transparency and accountability tools.

Concluding, SEREC said “the true test of reform is not initiation, but continuity. Nigeria cannot afford a return to policy reversals or institutional experimentation. The gains within the Nigeria Customs Service must be protected, strengthened, and transmitted across generations.”