NCS, AfCFTA committee parley to boost intra-African trade

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), in collaboration with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Coordination Committee, has held a one-day workshop at the weekend to enhance trade facilitation across the African continent.

The event brought together key officers of the NCS, including area controllers and representatives from the AfCFTA Coordination office, to discuss strategies for improving trade across Africa.

National Coordinator of the AfCFTA committee, Segun Awolowo, highlighted the immense potential of AfCFTA in transforming Africa’s economic landscape.

He emphasised the agreement’s role in eliminating tariffs on most goods and services, reducing barriers to capital and labour, and creating a more favourable environment for investment across the continent.

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“The objective of today’s workshop is to highlight the crucial role played by our trade exit points, the vital function of our port area controllers, and the importance of Customs command posts under the AfCFTA framework,” Awolowo said.

Representing the Comptroller General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, at the event was the Deputy Comptroller General of Customs in charge of the NCS Tariff & Trade Department, Caroline Niagwan, who reiterated the NCS’s commitment to fully supporting the implementation of AfCFTA through measures that simplify trade processes and promote regional integration.

“It is our responsibility to ensure that we deploy efficient measures that simplify the implementation of AfCFTA. This includes the digitisation and harmonisation of Customs procedures to facilitate the smooth flow of goods and services across African borders,” Niagwan said.