NCS to push digital border integration at African Trade conference
By Onu Okorie
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) will seek stronger digital integration and coordinated border management across Africa when it hosts the Customs Partnership for African Cooperation in Trade (C-PACT) 2026 Conference in Abuja from December 9 to 11.
The conference is expected to bring together African Customs administrations, policymakers, regional economic bodies, technology providers and private-sector stakeholders to explore ways of reducing cross-border trade delays, lowering transaction costs and improving the movement of goods across the continent.
The event, themed “One Border, Interconnected Systems: Advancing Customs Cooperation through One-Stop Border Posts,” will focus on addressing persistent barriers to intra-African trade, including duplicated border controls, fragmented procedures, limited information exchange and incompatible digital systems.
The NCS will also host the Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC) Conference from December 7 to 8, 2026, providing a national platform to review Customs reforms and strengthen the connection between border security and trade facilitation.
The CGC Conference, with the theme “Securing Borders, Enabling Trade: A Customs Commitment to Safer Communities,” will bring together government officials, Customs leaders, trade stakeholders and institutional partners to assess progress made in modernising Customs operations.
According to the Service, the two conferences are designed to advance practical solutions to border management challenges while strengthening cooperation among national institutions and African trading partners.
At the continental conference, discussions will centre on the use of One-Stop Border Posts (OSBPs), interconnected Customs platforms, harmonised procedures and coordinated risk management to streamline cross-border transactions.
The conference will also examine how secure information-sharing systems and digital technologies can improve coordination among border agencies, reduce unnecessary delays and make the movement of goods across African trade corridors more predictable.
Participants are expected to discuss the implementation of key African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) initiatives, including the AfCFTA Integrated Transit System, the Single Bond Guarantee Scheme and the Electronic Certificate of Origin system.
The programme will feature high-level policy dialogues, technical sessions on connected borders, presentations on the operations of existing and emerging One-Stop Border Posts, technology demonstrations and discussions on public-private partnerships for financing modern border infrastructure.
The organisers expect the deliberations to produce practical recommendations, identify priority investment and technology opportunities, and establish an implementation-focused roadmap for interconnected border systems across Africa.
Before the continental engagement, the CGC Conference will review the NCS’s modernisation initiatives and assess commitments made in 2025 against results recorded in 2026.
Its discussions will focus on digital Customs processes, trusted trade corridors, seamless payments, intelligence-led enforcement and collaboration among security agencies.
The programme will also feature the presentation of Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) certificates and discussions on measuring the effects of Customs reforms on trade and revenue generation.
Stakeholders, including the National Single Window Secretariat, the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), excise-sector representatives and AEO beneficiaries, will have the opportunity to assess reform outcomes and identify areas requiring further improvement.
The second day of the CGC Conference will focus on coordinated responses to emerging border threats, with participation expected from the Office of the National Security Adviser, the NCS, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit.
The Service said the engagement would reinforce intelligence-sharing, inter-agency collaboration and the professional responsibilities of Customs officers in protecting communities and maintaining public trust.
Under the leadership of Comptroller-General of Customs Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, the NCS said it remained committed to working with national institutions, regional partners and international stakeholders to secure Nigeria’s borders while facilitating legitimate trade.
The outcomes of the two conferences are expected to strengthen Customs administration, improve regional cooperation and support the AfCFTA’s objective of developing a more integrated and competitive African market.