Nigeria Customs Targets Globally Competitive Administration With New Innovations

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has signalled a push toward global competitiveness, anchoring its reform agenda on the Trade Modernisation Project. The project is a technology-driven initiative aimed at automating processes, integrating systems, and eliminating inefficiencies that have long constrained trade facilitation in Africa’s largest economy.

Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, made the declaration on Thursday at the opening of a training workshop for journalists on the Trade Modernisation Project in Abuja, where he charged the media to serve as active partners in communicating the scope and significance of the ongoing reforms.

The CGC said the NCS is leveraging modern digital platforms and automated procedures to reposition the service in line with international standards. “Through the deployment of modern digital platforms, automation of procedures, and integration of systems, we are laying the foundation for a customs administration that is not only efficient but also globally competitive.”

Dr Adeniyi described the Trade Modernisation Project as a comprehensive overhaul of the service’s operational processes, designed to create what he called “a more seamless and predictable trading environment.”

The Trade Modernisation Project is the centrepiece of a broader reform drive that has gathered pace under the current NCS leadership. The service has deployed the B’Odogwu Customs Management System, a new-generation electronic cargo clearance platform that replaces legacy systems and is designed to reduce cargo dwell time at Nigerian ports and land borders.

The NCS has also advanced the implementation of the National Single Window — an integrated trade portal that allows importers, exporters, and government agencies to submit and process trade documentation on a single digital platform.

The initiative, aligned with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) framework, is intended to significantly reduce the cost and time of cross-border transactions.

In addition, the service has expanded its risk management and post-clearance audit capacities, adopting intelligence-driven targeting to direct physical examinations at high-risk consignments while expediting the release of low-risk cargo. This approach mirrors World Customs Organization (WCO) best practices and is expected to boost both trade volumes and revenue yields.

Adeniyi said the involvement of the media was not incidental but deliberate, stressing that public trust remains a critical ingredient in the success of any large-scale institutional reform.

“As key partners in national development, the media serve as the bridge between institutions and the public. You shape narratives, influence perception, and provide the platform through which policies and reforms are interpreted and understood,” he said.

He urged journalists to engage actively with the project’s details, seek clarity on its operational framework, and help build public confidence in the reforms through accurate and balanced reportage.

In a welcome address, the National Public Relations Officer of the NCS praised the Comptroller-General’s “visionary leadership and steadfast commitment” to repositioning the service through strategic reforms, describing this week’s workshop as a necessary step in building a media corps that can accurately report on complex trade and customs matters.

Both the CG and the PRO commended Trade Modernisation Project Limited (TMPL), the technical partner driving implementation of the initiative, for its expertise and commitment to delivering sustainable innovations within the customs ecosystem.

The workshop, organised by the NCS Public Relations Unit in collaboration with TMPL, is designed to expose journalists to the objectives, implementation framework, and expected outcomes of the Trade Modernisation Project, and to foster a shared commitment to promoting transparency and accountability in customs administration.