Tinubu Hails AfCFTA Recognition of Nigeria Customs Modernisation Model

…Commends Bergmans as Nigerian Firm Wins Multi-Billion-Dollar Continental Customs Project

By Adebola Isimijola, Lagos

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has hailed the growing continental recognition of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) modernisation programme, following the selection of a subsidiary of Nigerian-owned Bergmans Security Consultant and Supplies Limited to implement a 20-year, multi-billion-dollar African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Customs Modernisation Project.

The President described the development as a validation of Nigeria’s growing capacity to develop homegrown solutions capable of serving the wider African market.

The project, to be implemented through Bergmans’ subsidiary, AfriTrade CMP Limited, is designed to deploy digital and physical infrastructure to improve customs processes, cargo tracking, border management and trade-data exchange across participating African countries.

The development was disclosed in a statement made available to journalists on Monday, August 10, 2026, by the National Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Customs Service, Deputy Comptroller Abdullahi Aliyu Maiwada.

According to the statement, another subsidiary of Bergmans, Trade Modernisation Project Limited, is already implementing Nigeria’s homegrown customs modernisation programme in partnership with the NCS.

President Tinubu said the development demonstrated the depth of Nigerian expertise now contributing to the future of customs administration and continental trade infrastructure.

“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,” the President said.

Tinubu added that Nigerian institutions and businesses could help build the technology and infrastructure required to make Africa’s single market more efficient and competitive.

He said the Federal Government, under its Nigeria First policy, would continue to create opportunities for capable Nigerian businesses to compete within the country, across Africa and globally.

The President commended Bergmans, AfriTrade CMP Limited, Trade Modernisation Project Limited, the Nigeria Customs Service, Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, and Nigerian professionals whose efforts, he said, had earned the continental confidence.

The President’s commendation came against the backdrop of a visit by the Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, Wamkele Mene, to the NCS headquarters in Abuja, where he inspected Nigeria’s customs modernisation systems in operation.

Mene was accompanied by members of the Senate Committee on Customs, led by its Chairman, Senator Jibrin Isah, following the conclusion of the committee’s two-day retreat 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 stressed that AfCFTA had opted for an African solution, underscoring the importance of African expertise, innovation and enterprise in developing the continent’s trade architecture.

The AfCFTA Secretary-General had earlier commended the NCS for its technology-driven reforms, saying the innovation developed in Nigeria had benefits beyond the country.

Mene said AfCFTA was interested in working with the NCS and learning from Nigeria’s experience as the continent seeks to strengthen the interconnectivity of customs systems and facilitate intra-African trade.

Also speaking after witnessing the systems in operation, Senator Isah expressed support for the modernisation programme, saying members of the Senate Committee on Customs had become ambassadors of the initiative after seeing its operations firsthand.

B’Odogwu, first piloted in October 2024, has become a central component of the NCS modernisation programme, 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 digital gateway for cross-border trade processes.

The initiative is expected to strengthen the digital and institutional architecture required to facilitate faster, more transparent and efficient movement of goods across borders.

President Tinubu further 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 CGC Adeniyi.

He stressed that the growing recognition of Nigerian-developed customs technologies demonstrated the importance of sustained investment in digital transformation, institutional capacity and indigenous expertise.

The development is expected to further position Nigeria as a major contributor to the digital infrastructure required to achieve the objectives of the AfCFTA and strengthen intra-African trade.