Participants At A Two Day Meeting between the Nigeria Customs Service and Benin Republic Customs in Abuja. Photo Credit: Biodun Dare
Acting Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, says the Nigeria Customs Service is committed to collaborating with the Republic of Benin Customs Administration using technology to manage cross-border trade between the two countries.
The proposed partnership came to light at a two-day interactive session in Abuja between the Nigeria Customs Service and their Beninoir counterparts.
Mr Adeniyi said the meeting would strengthen the existing bilateral trade ties and cooperation between the two countries and pave the way for a comprehensive mechanism to harmonize the import prohibition lists of both neighbours.
The Acting Customs CG lauded the Beninoir Customs and Embassy for expressing interest in collaborating with the Nigeria Customs Service to facilitate trade.
He expressed the hope that the programme would address the issues of trade and set a roadmap for implementation of new strategies that would enhance the economy and revenue in Nigeria and Benin Republic.
The Nigeria Customs boss noted that with the increasing global security challenges, the need for both countries’ customs services to work in synergy has become imperative, stressing that the “intended mutualism” would boost their efforts to improve the economies of both nations.
Writing by Biodun Dare; Editing by Hadiza Abdulrahman, Adeniyi Bakare and Tony Okerafor