President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has thrown his weight behind the $3.1 billion AfCFTA Customs Modernisation Project, describing the initiative as a major step towards faster trade, stronger revenue systems and deeper economic integration across Africa.
The President gave his backing on Tuesday in Abuja when he received Alhaji Saleh Ahmadu, a trade, revenue and security strategist whose company, Bergmans Security Consultants and Supplies Limited, signed a 20-year concession agreement with the AfCFTA Secretariat to drive the project.
The agreement, being implemented in partnership with AfriTrade CMP Limited, covers all 55 member states of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The project is expected to modernise customs operations, improve trade facilitation and make the movement of goods across African borders more efficient.
Tinubu commended Ahmadu and Bergmans for their role in Nigeria’s trade and revenue ecosystem, noting that efficient customs systems are critical to achieving the goals of AfCFTA. He also described the project as transformative, particularly as African countries seek to increase intra-African trade and strengthen their position in the global market.
The project builds on Bergmans’ experience with customs modernisation in Nigeria, including its involvement in the Nigeria Customs Service Modernisation Project. With the $3.1 billion concession now extending across the continent, the initiative puts customs reform at the heart of Africa’s ambition to remove trade barriers, protect revenue and accelerate the movement of goods under the AfCFTA framework.
source: Leadership
