Tinubu commends AfCFTA recognition of Nigeria Customs modernisation model

By Clement Omanibe

President Bola Tinubu, (GCFR) has once again lauded the rising continental recognition of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) modernisation project.

The president also commended the selection of a subsidiary of Nigerian-owned Bergmans Security Consultant and Supplies Limited for a 20-year, multi-billion-dollar African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Customs Modernisation Project.

Tinubu described the development as a validation of Nigeria’s growing capacity to develop homegrown solutions for the wider African market.

The commendation was contained in a statement on Monday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.

This followed the selection of Bergmans’ subsidiary, AfriTrade CMP Limited, to implement the continental project, which is designed to deploy digital and physical infrastructure to enhance customs processes, cargo tracking, border management and trade-data exchange across participating African countries.

The president said that the development is particularly crucial because another subsidiary of the Nigerian firm, Trade Modernisation Project Limited, was already implementing Nigeria’s homegrown Customs modernisation programme through the NCS.

This, he said, demonstrated the depth of Nigerian expertise now shaping the future of customs administration and continental trade infrastructure.

Tinubu also stressed that the solutions developed and tested in Nigeria were increasingly providing a model for other African countries.

He described the development as an evidence that Nigerian institutions and businesses possess the expertise and capacity to build the technology and infrastructure required to make Africa’s single market more efficient and competitive.

“What has been built and tested in Nigeria is now providing a model for the continent. This is how African integration should work: Africans building African solutions for African market. Nigerian institutions and businesses can help build the technology and infrastructure that will make that market work,” he said.

“Under our Nigeria First policy, we will continue to create opportunities for capable Nigerian businesses to compete at home, across Africa and globally. I commend Bergmans, AfriTrade CMP Limited, Trade Modernisation Project Limited, the Nigeria Customs Service, CGC Bashir Adewale Adeniyi and the Nigerian professionals whose work has earned this confidence,” the Tinubu said.

He also noted that the continental recognition of Nigeria’s Customs modernisation model reflected the progress being recorded in the transformation of the Service under the leadership of Comptroller-General of Customs Bashir Adewale Adeniyi.

He stressed that the growing adoption of Nigerian-developed Customs technologies and systems demonstrated the value of sustained investment in digital transformation, institutional capacity and indigenous expertise.

The President’s position was reinforced during a visit by the Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, Wamkele Mene, to the NCS Headquarters in Abuja, where he inspected the Trade modernization project in operation.

The visit was undertaken alongside members of the Senate Committee on Customs, led by Senator Jibrin Isah, following the conclusion of a two-day retreat focused on customs modernisation and reforms.

During the visit, Mene described B’Odogwu, Nigeria’s indigenous Unified Customs Management System, as a model with potential for wider adoption across Africa.

He disclosed that non-African companies had also offered similar solutions but emphasised that the AfCFTA had chosen an African solution, highlighting the significance of African expertise, innovation and enterprise in building the continent’s trade architecture. Senator Isah, after witnessing the systems in operation, similarly expressed the committee’s support for the initiative, stating that members had become ambassadors of the modernisation programme.

B’Odogwu, which was first piloted in October 2024, has become a central component of Nigeria Customs modernisation project, supporting the digitalisation of customs processes alongside cargo tracking, data infrastructure, surveillance, risk management and non-intrusive inspection capabilities.

The modernisation programme is also being integrated with the National Single Window, launched in March 2026, as a single digital gateway for cross-border trade processes, further strengthening the digital and institutional architecture required to facilitate faster and more transparent trade.