By Ayomide Otitoju
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has reinforced its strategic partnership with the United Kingdom’s His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to advance trade facilitation and digital border management. The move follows a high-level bilateral meeting in London on 18 March 2026, held on the sidelines of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s state visit to the UK under the Nigeria–United Kingdom Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership (ETIP).
The engagement was led by Comptroller-General of Customs Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, MFR, and Ms Megan Shaw, Head of International Customs and Border Engagement at HMRC. Discussions focused on customs modernisation, improving data transparency in bilateral trade flows, and expanding operational cooperation to enhance efficiency and integrity along the Nigeria–UK trade corridor.
Adeniyi highlighted the critical role of effective customs collaboration in driving economic growth and sustainable trade. He noted that Nigeria and the UK share a robust economic relationship spanning industrial goods, agriculture, energy, and consumer products, with customs administrations serving as frontline institutions to ensure transparent, secure, and mutually beneficial trade.
The meeting also addressed gaps in bilateral trade data. While UK-origin goods imported into Nigeria were valued at £504 million in 2024, the UK reported exports to Nigeria of approximately £1.7 billion for the same period. To bridge this discrepancy, both parties agreed to explore a structured pre-arrival data exchange framework between their digital customs platforms to strengthen compliance monitoring, risk management, and data reconciliation.
Both administrations presented updates on their customs modernisation initiatives, including the UK’s AI-driven trade tools, digital verification systems, and real-time analytics capabilities. Key outcomes from the engagement include the development of a Customs Mutual Administrative Assistance Framework, initiation of technical scoping for capacity-building and knowledge exchange, and the establishment of a joint technical engagement mechanism under the ETIP framework.
The NCS reaffirmed its commitment to deepening international partnerships as part of its modernisation agenda, aiming to enhance transparency, efficiency, and competitiveness in Nigeria’s trading environment. Insights from the collaboration are expected to strengthen operational capacity, improve trade facilitation, and support Nigeria’s economic reform objectives under the Renewed Hope programme.
