Nigeria engages other customs in Africa on full AfCFTA implementation – Adeniyi

The Nigeria Customs Service has, over the last three months, intensified its engagement with customs administrations across Africa to ensure that customs is properly integrated into the the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) implementation structures.

The Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed this at the opening of the maiden Customs Partnership for African Cooperation in Trade (C-PACT) Summit by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Monday, 17 November 2025 at the State House in Abuja.

Adewale Adeniyi said the extension of his mandate by President Tinubu included key performance indicators directly tied to the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

He recalled recent engagements in Ghana with the AfCFTA Secretariat, emphasising that Customs must drive rules of origin enforcement, preferential duty implementation and trade preference administration, core elements that determine whether AfCFTA works in reality or remains aspirational.

The CGC stated that implementing a free trade agreement requires significant capacity building and a strong political commitment, as it involves the progressive suspension of Customs duties among member states.

He explained that past regional integration efforts, including the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme, suffered setbacks because participating countries failed to implement commitments consistently, stressing that AfCFTA must avoid that pattern.

According to him, African economies are divided into regions with varying levels of readiness. Still, recent engagements have helped build consensus that Customs must sit at the centre of AfCFTA execution.

Adeniyi said his persistent advocacy for Customs inclusion at continental meetings led to the emergence of C-PACT, a framework designed to foster direct partnerships among African Customs administrations, private-sector operators, regulators and international partners.

He said Nigeria’s export volume has increased by more than 30 percent in two years, and the objective now is to redirect more of that trade into African markets where the opportunities are larger and the impact on continental growth more meaningful.

The Customs boss further commended AfreximBank, the AfCFTA Secretariat, the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, commercial banks, NPA and other agencies for aligning with the Customs Service to deepen trade facilitation.