AfCFTA Chief Seeks Africa-Wide Adoption Of Nigeria Customs’ Digital Innovations
The Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Wamkele Mene, has commended the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) for its digital transformation initiatives, calling for the adoption of Nigeria’s indigenous customs technology across Africa.
The Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Wamkele Mene, has commended theNigeria Customs Service (NCS)for its digital transformation initiatives, calling for the adoption of Nigeria’s indigenous customs technology across Africa. Mene made the call on Thursday, August 6, 2026, during a working visit to the Nigeria Customs Service Headquarters in Maitama, Abuja, where he described the Service’s technology-driven reforms as a practical African solution to longstanding challenges affecting trade facilitation and revenue collection across the continent. The AfCFTA Secretary-General said the continued reliance on manual customs procedures in many African countries contributes to revenue leakages, delays at borders and weak intra-African trade. He noted that Nigeria’s progress in deploying technology for customs administration provides a sustainable model that could be replicated by other African countries seeking to modernise their border management systems. “What we have seen today is truly state-of-the-art. I sincerely congratulate the NCS for what it has achieved within such a short period. We would like to work together and learn from what Nigeria has accomplished because this innovation has inherent benefits not only for Nigeria, but for the entire African continent,” Mene said. He also described the Nigeria Customs Service’s data centre as a strategic continental asset, noting that it could potentially support African countries that lack the financial and technical capacity to establish similar digital infrastructure. According to him, the facility demonstrates Africa’s growing ability to develop, manage and deploy critical digital infrastructure to address its own economic and trade challenges. Responding, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, thanked the AfCFTA Secretary-General for recognising the Service’s ongoing modernisation efforts and reaffirmed the NCS’s commitment to developing technology that reflects Africa’s unique trade environment. Adeniyi said the Service would continue to pursue innovation while drawing from global best practices to develop solutions that advance the interests of Nigeria and the wider African continent. “We sincerely appreciate your passion for promoting intra-African trade and strengthening the interconnectivity of customs systems across the continent. We are not done yet. We will continue to expand the frontiers of innovation, learning from global best practices while developing solutions that advance the peculiar interests of the African continent,” he said. The Comptroller-General further assured that the Nigeria Customs Service would strengthen its collaboration with AfCFTA and other African customs administrations to deepen digital integration, facilitate legitimate trade and promote regional economic cooperation. He said the commendation from the continental trade body would further strengthen the Service’s resolve to sustain its digital transformation and modernisation agenda. Please follow and like us: