Tinubu charges Africa to dismantle inefficient borders

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu says Africa’s prosperity depends on deliberate reforms that convert its large market and population into a functional economic bloc.

In view of this, President Tinubu charged African nations to dismantle inefficient borders, modernise their Customs systems and commit to a unified trade architecture capable of reshaping the continent’s economic future.

President Tinubu who represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima stated while declaring open the maiden Customs Partnership for African Cooperation in Trade (C-PACT) Summit on Monday, 17 November 2025 at the State House in Abuja.

Shettima told delegates that Africa must replace fragmented markets with coordinated policy implementation, stressing that every country must demonstrate political will, institutional alignment and the readiness to deploy technology that simplifies trade.

He said “The administration’s reform, exchange rate unification, fuel subsidy removal, port modernisation, and stronger Customs digitalisation, were designed to create a trade-friendly environment that could compete globally and power Nigeria’s continental ambitions.”

The VP stated that Nigeria’s National Single Window, set to go live in March 2026, will significantly reduce clearance timelines from 21 days to under seven, thereby fully aligning the country with the AfCFTA’s digital trade requirements and positioning Nigeria as a standard-setter in port automation.

Shettima urged African governments to transform commitments into measurable outcomes that traders, manufacturers and logistics operators can feel daily, saying “Integration cannot be declared. It must be engineered.”