The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat has thrown its weight behind the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) initiative — the Customs-Partnership for African Cooperation in Trade (C-PACT) — designed to enhance trade integration across the continent.
AfCFTA Secretary-General, Wamkele Mene, gave the endorsement during a courtesy visit by a delegation led by the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adeniyi, to the AfCFTA headquarters in Accra on Monday.
The C-PACT initiative, developed by the NCS in collaboration with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), seeks to reposition Africa’s trading landscape. Its maiden conference is scheduled to take place in Abuja from November 17 to 19.
Supported by the World Customs Organisation (WCO), C-PACT aims to set a new benchmark for cross-border collaboration by creating a transparent and efficient customs framework that encourages lawful trade and sustainable growth.
Mene emphasised that such partnerships are vital to the implementation of the AfCFTA Agreement and the achievement of its objectives.
“This partnership is critical, and we look forward to sustained dialogue and cooperation to ensure meaningful and lasting results,” Mene said.
He explained that the engagement would help identify solutions to possible challenges in the implementation of the trade agreement, adding that customs administrations are key to its success.
According to him, the African Union’s Assembly of Heads of State and Government has directed AfCFTA to collaborate with the NCS to ensure that C-PACT becomes a continental reality.
He described his meeting with the Nigerian delegation as productive and expressed optimism that the collaboration would promote intra-African trade and stimulate economic development.
In his remarks, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adeniyi, said discussions with the Secretary-General focused on how customs institutions could drive continental integration and boost trade within Africa.
Adeniyi, who also serves as President of the World Customs Organisation (WCO), explained that the goal of C-PACT is to leverage trade as a tool for economic growth and prosperity across the continent.
He commended the AfCFTA Secretariat for mobilising key partners, including customs bodies and economic operators, to address bottlenecks affecting trade performance in Africa.
Adeniyi further noted that improving the quality of trade data remains a priority and that customs authorities must take the lead in closing existing information gaps across member states.
He added that the structural framework under AfCFTA must be strengthened to ensure that once the Customs Pact is fully institutionalised, it will operate effectively within the Secretariat’s system.
Members of the Customs Comptroller-General’s delegation included Ahmed Ogunsola, General Manager of the Trade Modernisation Project Limited (TMP), and Brig.-Gen. Glover Annan, Commissioner, Customs Division, among others.
Adeniyi reaffirmed that the collaboration marks a new chapter in Africa’s pursuit of seamless trade integration and shared economic prosperity.