The acting Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Adewale Adeniyi, on Tuesday, announced that Nigerian importers would soon be able to clear their goods from the ports in Cotonou, Benin Republic. He disclosed this in Abuja at the end of a two-day working visit by the director-general and senior officials of the customs service of Benin Republic. Customs personnel from both countries entered into various agreements during the two-day meeting in order to boost trade relations between Nigeria and Benin Republic, as well as curb smuggling.
Responding to a question during the occasion, Adewale stated, “We are building confidence in the Republic of Benin’s system, our importers are using their ports, and vice versa.” If people in the Benin Republic wish to utilise our ports, we aim to instill faith in our procedures.
“And by virtue of this agreement, what it means is that Nigerian importers willing to use the ports in Cotonou can have their goods cleared in those ports because there would be an opportunity for them to pay duties on goods that are liable for payment of duties.
“We can account for the duties on those goods in the ports of arrival. As a result, they will now be able to enter Nigeria.”
“It goes beyond vehicles,” he stated in response to concerns about vehicle smuggling. Any commodities arriving in Cotonou ports can be subjected to duty and paid for before entering Nigerian territory.
“It is pretty much the same as when goods come in through Lagos or Port Harcourt; it is pretty much the same,” Adewale said. “We have agreed in principle that we can operationalize this. “So the steps that we are going to take to get us to that particular destination is what we are going to be working on. It was mentioned in the communique that we are going to establish timelines when we hope to achieve that particular milestone.”
“Today marks a significant milestone in our journey to strengthen collaboration, eliminate barriers, and promote legitimate trade within the West African region,” he continued.
