AfCFTA Picks Nigerian Customs Model for Continental Project as Tinubu Hails ‘Made-in-Nigeria’ Innovation

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

The President’s commendation was contained in a statement issued on Monday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, following the selection of Bergmans’ subsidiary, AfriTrade CMP Limited, for the continental project.The project is designed to deploy digital and physical infrastructure to improve customs processes, cargo tracking, border management and trade-data exchange across participating African countries.Tinubu said the development was a validation of Nigeria’s growing capacity to develop homegrown solutions capable of serving the wider African market.

He noted that another subsidiary of the Nigerian firm, Trade Modernisation Project Limited, is already implementing Nigeria’s Customs modernisation programme through the Nigeria Customs Service.According to the President, the experience demonstrates that Nigerian expertise is increasingly contributing to the development of customs administration and continental trade infrastructure.He said the recognition of Nigeria’s model was evidence that Nigerian institutions and businesses have the capacity to develop the technology and infrastructure needed to make Africa’s single market more efficient and competitive.

Tinubu said, “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 markets.”The President further pledged that his administration, under the Nigeria First policy, would continue to create opportunities for capable Nigerian businesses to compete within Nigeria, across Africa and globally.He commended Bergmans, AfriTrade CMP Limited, Trade Modernisation Project Limited, the Nigeria Customs Service, Comptroller-General of Customs Bashir Adewale Adeniyi and Nigerian professionals involved in the modernisation programme.

Tinubu also linked the continental recognition to reforms being implemented in the Nigeria Customs Service under Adeniyi, saying the growing adoption of Nigerian-developed customs technologies reflects the impact of investment in digital transformation, institutional capacity and indigenous expertise.The development was further highlighted during a visit by the Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, Wamkele Mene, to the NCS Headquarters in Abuja, where he inspected the Customs modernisation project in operation.

Mene was accompanied by members of the Senate Committee on Customs, led by Senator Jibrin Isah, following 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 presented similar solutions, but said AfCFTA opted for an African solution, describing the decision as significant for African expertise, innovation and enterprise.

Senator Isah also expressed the committee’s support for the modernisation programme after witnessing the systems in operation, saying members of the committee had become ambassadors of the initiative.B’Odogwu, first piloted in October 2024, forms a central part of the NCS modernisation programme, supporting the digitalisation of Customs processes, cargo tracking, data infrastructure, surveillance, risk management and non-intrusive inspection.

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 integration is expected to further strengthen Nigeria’s digital trade infrastructure and support faster, more transparent and efficient movement of goods across borders.