The Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, has urged West and Central African nations to strengthen collaboration and prioritize unity in addressing the operational and technical barriers hindering trade development in the region.
Adeniyi made the call on Thursday night during the Cultural Night-Out and Dinner held in Abuja as part of the three-day World Customs Organization – West and Central Africa (WCO-WCA) Donor Conference.
The conference was themed “Partner mobilization around the priority projects of the WCO’s WCA Region.”
According to him, the event represents a significant step toward meeting the modernization goals and performance targets of customs administrations across member states.
Adeniyi identified critical issues such as limited digital infrastructure and poor interconnectivity as major obstacles to trade facilitation.
He emphasized the need for unity among West African nations, stressing the importance of leveraging shared strengths instead of allowing external influences to cause division.
He said, “It is important and an obligation for us to begin to dwell more on those things that bring us together rather than those few things that are orchestrated sometimes from outside our region that divide us.
“We should develop a stronger spirit of cooperation, collaboration and understanding if we must succeed.”
Reaffirming support for this initiative, Vice-Chair of the WCO West and Central Africa Sub-Region and Director-General of Mali Customs, Amadou Konate, called for urgent structural reforms to promote growth and overcome shared regional challenges.
He emphasized the importance of joint efforts, stating the need to “work together, take charge, restructure reforms to modernize, and address common challenges in the region.”
The high-level conference, the first of its kind since the COVID-19 pandemic, gathered key stakeholders committed to transforming customs operations and accelerating economic integration within the region.
Prominent delegates in attendance included Mr. Ebenezer Tafili, representing the Secretary-General of the WCO; Ambassador Mohammed Mohammed, Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency; several heads of customs agencies; donor organizations; the Nigeria-owned Trade Modernisation Project (TMP) Limited; diplomatic representatives; and key industry stakeholders.
Customs Boss Seeks Unity In Addressing Trade Barriers Within West, Central Africa is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
Source: The Whistler