Nigeria and UK customs officials work toward trade assistance agreement

Nigeria and the United Kingdom have moved closer to concluding a Customs Mutual Administrative Assistance Agreement aimed at improving cooperation between their customs administrations, Nigeria’s Customs Service said. The progress followed a two-day meeting between the Nigeria Customs Service and His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs at the NCS headquarters in Abuja. The meeting was part of efforts to resolve outstanding issues before a proposed signing in December.

NCS spokesperson Abdullahi Maiwada said the agreement would strengthen information sharing, compliance and trade facilitation between the two countries. Customs Comptroller-General Bashir Adeniyi was represented at the meeting by Nafi’u Isyaku, assistant comptroller-general in charge of the Strategic, Research and Policy Department. Adeniyi said negotiations had been held virtually for about six months before the delegations met in person.

He said the sides hoped to complete the process ahead of the World Customs Organisation Policy Commission meeting, where the signing was expected to take place in the first week of December. HMRC policy adviser Syed Moinuddin said the discussions were intended to establish a cooperation framework reflecting the interests of both authorities. Louisa Bentley, HMRC’s head of bilateral relations and agreements, described the talks as successful and said the agreement was close to completion.

Bentley said the proposed arrangement could improve compliance and trade facilitation and support both countries’ participation in global trade opportunities. She also praised changes observed during a tour of NCS facilities. The HMRC delegation visited the Trade Modernisation Project Limited office, the Pre-Arrival Assessment Report office and the Nigeria Customs Broadcasting Network station.

Bentley said the tour showed developments in technology and personnel training that could support more efficient trade processes.