Nigeria plans border upgrades with Benin and Cameroon to boost AfCFTA trade

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has entered discussions with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to modernize Nigeria’s borders with Benin and Cameroon. The initiative aims to improve trade facilitation and cross-border efficiency in alignment with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) objectives. Proposed upgrades include digital infrastructure, harmonized customs procedures, and investments in cargo scanners, access roads, and modern processing facilities.

A key component of the plan is the Customs Declaration Exchange System (CDES), which would enable secure information exchange between Nigeria’s B’Odogwu platform, Benin’s Customs Webb, and Cameroon’s CAMCIS.

Separately, former Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs Dera Nnadi has urged Nigerian importers to transition from importing finished goods to sourcing raw materials for local manufacturing and assembly. Nnadi warned that the AfCFTA could threaten the business models of traditional importers and freight forwarders, as goods manufactured within Africa may benefit from preferential tariff treatments that non-African goods, such as those from China, do not receive.