The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, Mr. Adewale Adeniyi, has engaged the Secretary-General of Africa Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA, Mr Wamkele Mene, with a view to maximising Nigeria's opportunities under the initiative.

NCS's spokesman, Abdullahi Maiwada, who indicated in a statement in Abuja yesterday, said the duo met in Kigali, Rwanda.

The C-G acknowledged the critical support provided by President Bola Tinubu's administration and the legislative arm through the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023.

He said: "The Act has been instrumental in providing the necessary legal framework for implementing initiatives that align with the government's vision of making Nigeria the most efficient trading nation on the continent, fostering SME growth and boosting exports to strengthen intra-African trade."

Adeniyi said the robust trade facilitation efforts of his team resulted in the recent achievement of Mrs Chinwe Ezenwa, CEO of LE LOOK Nigeria Limited, who became the first woman to export goods under the Guided Trade Initiative, GTI, of AfCFTA to East, Central, and North African countries.

Her success, he stated, marked by the export of goods on July 16, 2024, from Apapa Port in Lagos, underscored the growing opportunities for Nigerian businesses in the continental market.

The NCS boss pledged to bring these discussions to the heads of Customs administrations' platform in Africa, ensuring a coordinated approach to addressing Customs-related challenges across the continent.

In his remarks, Mene, expressed AfCFTA Secretariat's commitment to developing a concept note outlining the way forward for the free trade area.

The meeting between the CG and the Sec-Gen provided an opportunity to refine strategies aimed at improving trade facilitation under the AfCFTA agreement.

Discussions centered on addressing existing bottlenecks and encouraging small and medium-sized enterprises, SMEs, to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the agreement, given their critical role in boosting intra-African trade.

Particular emphasis was placed on the role of Customs in these efforts.