ADENIYI DOING ALL IN CUSTOMS PLAYBOOK TO ACHIEVE TRADE FACILITATION; AS MAIWADA THRILLS STAKEHOLDERS WITH HIS LECTURE ON ‘TAILORED COMMUNICATION IN CUSTOMS OPERATIONS’
By Timothy Paul Okorocha
By all indications, the Comptroller General of the Customs service, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, MFR, is doing all in Customs playbook to ensure seamless trade facilitation and bring Nigeria at par with various trade agreements reached by the World Customs Organization (WCO).
In a keynote address today at the agency’s Trade facilitation consultative forum and anniversary of Advancep, he said, in alignment with this year’s theme ‘Trade facilitation for Renewable Energy Technologies’, the service would proudly support the WCO’s Green Customs Initiative which aims to facilitate the trade of environmentally sustainable goods.
According to hm, under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Federal Government continues to champion policies that foster investment, ensure sustainability, and promote responsible industrial practices, as outlined in Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan (ETP).
The Green Customs Initiative responds to the growing number of legally binding Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) and recognizes the critical role customs play in enforcing them. Two key MEAs relevant to RE/EE technologies are the Montreal Protocol (1989), addressing ozone-depleting substances, and the Paris Agreement (2016), which focuses on mitigating climate change.
Scientific evidence confirms that human activity—especially the burning of fossil fuels—has led to increasing atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, and CFCs. These emissions contribute significantly to global warming and environmental degradation.
A key pillar of the Paris Agreement is the promotion of a sustainable, low-carbon future—driven by investment in renewablee nergy and energy-efficient technologies.
As a signatory to the Paris Agreement, Nigeria is committed to transitioning towards cleaner and more efficient energy systems.
The NCS plays a pivotal role in supporting these national goals by facilitating the importation of renewable energy technologies and enforcing fiscal measures that promote a shift away from fossil fuel dependency, with a view to achieving net-zero emissions by 2060.
As we commemorate the first anniversary of the Advance Ruling Programme, which has provided greater transparency and predictability in trade, I reaffirm the unwavering commitment of the Nigeria Customs Service—together with our global partners—to ensuring efficient, secure, and sustainable trade operations.
In recent times, trade facilitation has become integral to the operations of customs administrations globally, aligning with our core mandate of implementing international trade laws. These include the WTO Agreement on the Implementation of Article VII of GATT 1994 (Customs Valuation Agreement), the WCO Harmonized System Convention of 1988 and its Annexes, and the WTO Agreement on Rules of Origin.
The implementation of these agreements by Customs stems from our traditional role of collecting duties on internationally traded goods, which is essential for national economic development.
However, determining customs duties—through tariff classification, valuation, and origin assessment—is a technically complex process. These complexities can result in disputes, delays, and additional costs. Moreover, challenges such as commercial fraud, revenue leakage, and the enforcement of policy measures to protect domestic industries, the environment, and public safety further complicate customs procedures.
These issues often place a disproportionate burden on compliant traders, who suffer delays alongside non-compliant ones due to the high levels of scrutiny necessary to uphold statutory obligations.
With the increasing volume of global trade, expanding global value chains, and the rise of e-commerce and Just-In-Time services, it has become imperative for Customs administrations to adopt mechanisms that support the seamless flow of legitimate trade. Such mechanisms are essential not only for sustaining international commerce but also for empowering small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to benefit from cross-border trade.
In the context of customs operations, trade facilitation refers to systems and procedures that streamline the import, export, and transit of goods. This includes simplifying customs valuation, tariff classification, and origin determination, as well as facilitating declaration submission, payment, review, intervention, and release processes. For traders, trade facilitation ensures uniform standards, predictability, and transparency—critical for efficient and timely clearance.
Following the enactment of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023, which provides a legal framework for trade facilitation in line with international standards, the NCS has introduced several initiatives aimed at simplifying customs processes.
Notable among these are: Border Odogwu (B’Odogwu):
*A Unified Customs Management System (UCMS) that integrates cargo declaration, payments, risk management, document verification, and cargo release into one seamless platform.
*The Advance Ruling System: Launched in early 2024, this provides binding pre-arrival decisions on classification and valuation. By shifting decision-making to the pre-arrival stage, the system ensures greater predictability and reduces disputes and clearance delays.
*Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Programme: Launched on 14th February 2025, this program—based on Pillar 2 of the WCO SAFE Framework—facilitates expedited clearance for trusted traders who demonstrate compliance and supply chain security.
*Time Release Study: On the 8th of February 2024, the NCS initiated a Time Release Study (TRS) in collaboration with the WCO, Accelerate Trade Facilitation, and the UK Revenue Authority. This initiative aims to assess and enhance the efficiency of customs clearance processes and fulfill the commitments outlined in the NCS Service Charter.
The National PRO, in his well authored paper presentation entitled‘strategic communication in trade facilitation’ the National public Relations officer, Assistant Comptroller Abdullahi Maiwada, PhD talked about how important effective communication is in running the operations of the service to achieve its aims and objectives. According to him, communication should be ‘tailored’ if it must achieve its objectives.
In doing so, electronic, print and social media must be involved and carried along.
This is imperative if the right impact is expected. He owned up to certain weaknesses of the present communication where circulars may not get to the appropriate quarters timely, while its website is not ‘too friendly’.
Dr Maiwada favoured the new ‘Green customs’ and suggested a campaign launch of the policy. With Maiwada’s lecture, the audience was in agreement with his well researched lecture which was greeted with thunderous applause.