Nigeria’s recent election as the chairman of World Customs Organisation WCO, which is the umbrella body for over 180 Customs Administrations, accounting for over 98per cent of global trade could boost Africa’s trade future if measures are put in place to harmonise practices among member nations within the continent, according to head, Research, Sea Empowerment and Research Centre SEREC, Dr. Eugene Nweke.

Recall that the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi MFR was on July, 1, 2025, elected the chairman of the WCO, being the first Nigerian and among the few Africans to occupy such position.

Speaking at a one-day seminar organised by the League of Maritime Editors LOME, held in Lagos, Tuesday, with the theme: “Benefits of Nigeria’s chairmanship of the WCO to her economy”, Nweke, who doubles as Secretary, Nigeria Customs Consultative Committee CCC, noted that Nigeria’s election partly came on the heels of several trade reforms carried out by the current management of the Service under Adeniyi, adding that such reforms could be replicated across the continent to harmonise its trade practices

 He listed the six milestones under Adeniyi’s management of the Service to include the conduct of the Time Release Study TRS, measures real clearance time of cargo at the country’s seaports and identified bottlenecks and offered solutions to boost vessel turnaround time and reduce cargo dwell time, Data Analytics, which moved the Service from intuition to intelligence by deploying risk-based inspections with fewer leakages.

He also listed the Advance Ruling Application, which enables traders receive tariff and valuation clarity in advance, thereby reducing disputes and building confidence in the cargo clearing system, the Authorised Economic Operator AEO, under which trusted traders are rewarded with faster clearance of cargo, introducing incentives for compliant traders and aligning the country’s systems with global best practice.

Other reforms include the B’Odogwu Platform, which led to the migration of the Service’s system from NICIS ii to the integrated single-window environment, which brought about seamless, digital and transparent trade practices as well as the acquisition of Rapid Scanners, which will portend faster, non-intrusive inspections while enhancing both trade facilitation and better border security management.

“Together, these reforms form a foundation. They are the springboard for our WCO chairmanship. However, we must ask ourselves what does this chairmanship position mean for the African Continental Free Trade Agreement AfCFTA implementation?

“It will further accelerate the harmonisation of Customs procedures, mutual recognition of AEOs across Africa, enthrone data standards that reduce friction, Time Release Study models to cut delays, Nigeria’s seaports are positioned as regional trade hubs, but the actualisation of these would amount to leadership with practical outcomes”, he said.

Nweke however regretted that despite these milestone reforms, the country’s supply chain systems are still bugged down infrastructure deficit, especially road and absence of functional rail system, low level of automation among many operators, which constitute a major concern.

He also listed problems associated with policy inconsistency of the government, with the attendant frequent reversals, which harm trust. According to him, bureaucratic bottlenecks and highhanded disposition of some officials of government agencies as well as corruption, remain part of the challenges the country must face headlong if she must provide leadership by example to other African Customs Administrations.

Meanwhile, President of the League, Mrs. Remi Itie, in her welcome remarks, congratulated the CG Customs on his election as the chairman of the WCO, describing it as a significant milestone for Nigeria and the African Customs community.

“The position of chairman of the WCO, is important to our country in many ways. He is the first Nigerian to chair the WCO since its establishment in 1953, making this a historic moment for Nigeria.

“As the chairman of the WCO, he provides strategic leadership to the WCO Policy Commission, steering global customs agendas on trade facilitation, revenue optimisation, security, cross-border cooperation, and digital transformation amongst others.

“l am tempted to say that Adeniyi’s election reflects Nigeria’s growing influence in global customs affairs, and for this reason, Nigeria is poised to driving customs reform conversations across the globe, particularly in areas such AfCFTA implementation, suppressing illicit trade, and technology adoption. Certainly, all of these should impact positively on our country that is in dire need of more growth and development”, Mrs. Itie said.

She however noted that as media practitioners, the maritime journalists know that hoisting of Nigeria’s flag at the WCO headquarters symbolises Nigeria’s leadership as chair of the Council, which would further boost the nation’s growth index and possibly change the narrative concerning her trade practices and image abroad.

A highpoint of the event was the presentation of awards to deserving stakeholders, which was conducted by the chairman of the event, Assistant Comptroller General of Customs, Charles Edike (rtd.)