The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), have expanded talks on how Nigeria can maximise the potential inherit in the over $3.4 trillion combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of member states.
The talks were spearheaded by the Comptroller General of Customs (CGC), Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, and the Secretary General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Wamkele Mene in a meeting recently.
AFCTA, with a combined GDP of an estimated US$ 3.4 trillion, is intended to link 1.3 billion people living in different parts of the continent. This is according to the AfCFTA Factsheet.
The CGC met with the AfCFTA heads on the margins of the Biashara Afrika 2024 forum, hosted in Kigali, Rwanda, hosted from 9th to 11th October 2024.
A statement by the National Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Customs Service, Abdullahi Maiwada, noted that the discussions centered on addressing existing bottlenecks and encouraging small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the agreement, given their critical role in boosting intra-African trade.
Maiwada stated that at the meeting, the AfCFTA secretary general praised the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) for its progressive initiatives, which he said include the pilot phase of the Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) programme, the implementation of Advanced Rulings, and the conduct of Time Release studies.”
On the other hand, the Comptroller General Adeniyi commended the secretary general for his unwavering commitment to advancing the AfCFTA’s goals, despite the resource constraints faced by the secretariat.
