Customs modernisation in Nigeria has received major continental recognition as President Bola Tinubu commended Bergmans and its subsidiaries for securing a 20-year AfCFTA project to modernise customs systems across participating African countries.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has hailed the recognition of Nigeria’s customs modernisation programme by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), following the selection of a subsidiary of Nigerian-owned Bergmans Security Consultant and Supplies Limited for a 20-year, multi-billion-dollar continental customs modernisation project.
The project will be implemented through Bergmans’ subsidiary, AfriTrade CMP Limited, and is expected to deploy digital and physical infrastructure to strengthen customs processes, cargo tracking, border management and trade-data exchange across participating African countries.
Another Bergmans subsidiary, Trade Modernisation Project Limited, is responsible for implementing Nigeria’s homegrown customs modernisation programme.
President Tinubu said the development demonstrated Nigeria’s growing capacity to develop solutions that can be deployed across the African market.
“What has been built and tested in Nigeria is now providing a model for the continent. This is how African integration should work: Africans building African solutions for African opportunities,” the President said.
He said Nigeria should not only participate in Africa’s single market but should also play a leading role in developing the technology and infrastructure needed to make continental trade more efficient.
Tinubu said his administration’s Nigeria First policy would continue to support capable Nigerian businesses seeking opportunities within Nigeria, across Africa and internationally.
The President commended Bergmans, AfriTrade CMP Limited, Trade Modernisation Project Limited, the Nigeria Customs Service, Comptroller-General Bashir Adewale Adeniyi and Nigerian professionals involved in the customs modernisation programme.
AfCFTA Secretary-General Wamkele Mene visited Abuja in connection with the agreement and also toured the headquarters of the Nigeria Customs Service to inspect Nigeria’s customs modernisation system.
Members of the Senate Committee on Customs, led by Senator Jibrin Isah, joined the visit after concluding a two-day retreat focused on customs modernisation and reforms.
During the visit, Mene described B’Odogwu, Nigeria’s indigenous Unified Customs Management System, as a model with potential relevance across Africa.
He also disclosed that non-African companies had offered similar services but said AfCFTA opted for an African solution, highlighting the importance of African innovation and expertise in implementing the continental free trade framework.
Senator Isah said members of his committee had become ambassadors of the system after witnessing its operations.
B’Odogwu, which was first piloted in October 2024, has become a major component of Nigeria’s customs modernisation programme.
The system works alongside initiatives covering cargo tracking, data infrastructure, surveillance, risk management and non-intrusive inspection.
Nigeria is also integrating the customs modernisation programme with the National Single Window, which was launched in March 2026 as a digital gateway designed to simplify cross-border trade processes.
The broader objective is to reduce delays and costs associated with moving goods across borders while improving transparency, data exchange and risk management.
President Tinubu said efficient customs systems would be critical to achieving the objectives of AfCFTA, particularly as African countries work toward reducing barriers to intra-African trade.
“The promise of AfCFTA will be realised when goods can move across African borders faster, at lower cost and with fewer barriers. Nigeria is ready to contribute its experience, innovation and enterprise to that future,” the President said.
The development represents a significant endorsement of Nigeria’s efforts to build indigenous digital infrastructure for trade and customs administration and potentially expand those solutions across the continent.
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