By Stephen Ubanna
For much of Last March, 2025 and early April 2025, the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, under the Leadership of Bashir Adewale Adeniyi,MFR, and his management team were said to have started making preparations for the 4th World Customs Organization, WCO/ World Customs Administrations, WCA Conference in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.
This year’s WCO/WCA conference in Nigeria was said to have addressed the topic of partner stabilization and the priority projects of the WCO/WCA member countries from the West and Central African subregions aimed at meeting the modernization goals and performance targets of the various Customs Administrations.
The WCO/WCA, conference in Nigeria was said to have examined the importance of modernization and performance within Customs Administrations for fostering economic development and security in the WCO/WCA region, and to promote reform and modernization of WCA Customs Administrations, particular, with regard to smart Customs.
Part of the agenda of the WCO/WCA, conference, in Nigeria is ’’ to establish and strengthen the network and dialogue between the WCA Customs Admirations and development partners operating in the West and Central African subregions at the end of the conference, ‘’to raise awareness within Customs Administrations in the WCA region of the priorities, initiatives and feedback of those partners by providing technical and financial assistance to the region and to present and coordinate regional initiatives to mobilize funds for their implementation.
Prior to the Nigerian conference, on Wednesday 9, 2025, there was the initial Regional Experts meetings to prepare the ground for the Nigerian conference of partners in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT. For WCO members from the West and Central African WCA subregion.
The Nigeria Customs Comptroller General, who many believes over the last one year had championed a new era in ‘’Regional Trade Efficiency’’, was said to have taken advantage provided by the WCO/WCA conference to reaffirm the service position as a regional leader in trade reforms on Wednesday, April 9, 2025, at the opening of the fourth WCO/WCA Donors’ Conference for the West and Central African subregions in Nigeria.
The high-level event which was said to have marked the first WCO/WCA donors’ conference in Nigeria since the COVID 19 pandemic was said to have drawn key stakeholders in the nation’s maritime sector and other relevant security agencies who were said to be committed ‘’to modernizing NCS operations and boosting regional economic integration’’.
The event was said to have also brought together distinguished delegates from maritime nations across the world including one Ebenezer Tafili , who was said to have represented the Secretary General of the WCO, while Amadou Konate, Vice Chairman, WCO/WCA and Director -General of Mali Customs Administration and Ambassador Mohammed Mohammed, Director -General of National Intelligence Agency, NIA, including other top officials of the NCS, from the Customs Headquarters and the Lagos, Kaduna, Owerri and Bauchi zonal top offices . Some Customs Area Comptrollers were said to have equally participated at the one-day WCO/WCA conference, described as very rewarding.
Other participants at the event were officials of the donor agencies, Nigerian owned Trade Modernization Project Limited, TMP, diplomatic representatives and industry stakeholders.
In his remarks, Adeniyi, the CGC, had talked about ‘’the persistent technical and operational challenges confronting Customs administrations in Nigeria and other member countries of the West and Central African subregion. He was said to have identified ‘’limited digital infrastructure and poor inter-connectivity among key issues hindering trade facilitation drive in two regions’’.
He may have shocked participants at the WCO/WCA event when he disclosed that the West and Central African economic blocs,’’faces significant hurdles, from the rapid revolution of e-commerce to the complexities of technical procedures’’. The NCS helmsman, however, has every reason to be happy that the service has made innovative strides as’’it has developed and deployed the indigenous technology B’Odogwu platform, installed the advanced scanners and embarked on comprehensive training of over 5,000 officers on the B’Odogwu system’’.
Given the importance attached to the WCO/WCA event, may have informed why Wale Edun, minister of Finance and Coordinator of the Economy under the incumbent President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, had declared the conference open amidst applause from participants.
The minister may have used the opportunity provided by the conference to give kudos to the Adeniyi led NCS, for ‘’its outstanding performance in the areas of trade facilitation, revenue generation, anti-smuggling operations and inter-agency collaborations over the last one year. ‘’I am proud to commend the NCS, for its remarkable performance, achieving 90% in revenue collection and surpassing its target by 20% in 2024’’., he had remarked.
According to him, ‘’these achievements, driven by modernized processes and WCO-supported initiatives illustrate how strategic investments and technology can revolutionalise trade and strengthen regional integration’’.
