The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has successfully facilitated Nigeria’s inaugural shipment to Kenya, marking a significant milestone as Lucky Fibres, a subsidiary of the Tolaram Group, becomes one of the first companies to engage in trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement.
During a recent visit to the Apapa Area Command, Olusegun Olutayo, Senior Trade Expert and Lead of Trade Enablement at the Nigeria AfCFTA Coordination Office, emphasized the importance of this shipment to the port of Mombasa in Kenya, highlighting it as a demonstration of the collaborative spirit promoted by AfCFTA.
“It is not that we are doing it alone; I have already sent a message to the Secretariat in Ghana that there will be a shipment under AfCFTA to Kenya.
I have also communicated with the AfCFTA implementation committee in Kenya. This is the spirit we are building to ensure that we increase intra-African trade,” Olutayo stated.
He further acknowledged the NCS’s pivotal role as the Designated Competent Authority (DCA) under AfCFTA, praising their commitment to facilitating seamless trade processes.
“The Nigeria Customs Service has been fantastic; they are ready to facilitate trade. Once they hear that there is an issue, particularly around AfCFTA, you will see everybody ready to support and facilitate it, which is the essence of true trade facilitation,” he added.
Assistant Comptroller Olusola Salako, who oversees the Lilypond Export Command at Apapa, highlighted the agency’s use of technology to enhance the effectiveness of AfCFTA.
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“The service has aligned with the mandates of the World Customs Organisation to prioritize the importance of trade.
Gone are the days when we experienced issues. Today, we have a Unified Customs Management System (UCMS). With trade becoming more global, we went back to the drawing board and improved our technology to help us facilitate trade.”
Salako concluded by assuring that the NCS is well-prepared for the implementation of AfCFTA, stating, “The service is already in top gear; officers have been trained, and we have dedicated officers, senior officers, and releasing officers for this particular export procedure—not limited to AfCFTA alone—and we also have dedicated ports.”
This initiative marks a progressive step towards enhancing intra-African trade and cooperation among member states under the AfCFTA framework.
