By: Goodluck E.Adubazi, Abuja.
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and the Cameroon Customs Administration have launched a joint assessment of the Ekok-Mfum One-Stop Border Post (OSBP) as part of efforts to eliminate cross-border trade bottlenecks, strengthen border security and promote regional economic integration.
The high-level bilateral exercise, held on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, was themed: “Leveraging the Nigeria Customs Service Trade Modernisation Project to Advance Seamless Cross-Border Trade and Shared Prosperity.”
The exercise brought together senior customs officials, technical experts, security agencies, development partners and community leaders from Nigeria and Cameroon to explore practical ways of improving operations at the strategic border corridor.
Speaking at the event, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, said the initiative was aimed at building on the existing cooperation between the two neighbouring countries and transforming it into a model for regional and continental integration.
According to him, despite the geographical proximity and longstanding relationship between Nigeria and Cameroon, movement of goods and people across their shared border remains unnecessarily difficult.
“We are not building from nothing. We are taking something that works between the two of us and asking whether it can be made to work for the region and hopefully for our continent,” Adeniyi stated.
The Customs boss acknowledged the support of key regional and international partners, including the African Development Bank, ECOWAS, ECCAS, Afreximbank and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat.
Adeniyi further disclosed that delegations from both customs administrations recently embarked on a study tour of the Beitbridge Border Post between South Africa and Zimbabwe to understudy global best practices in the operation of one-stop border posts.
He said technical teams from Nigeria and Cameroon were currently working to finalise a joint operational agreement expected to be signed at the forthcoming C-PACT conference.
Also speaking, the Director-General of Cameroon Customs, Fongod Nuvaga, described the joint assessment as the first concrete step towards establishing unified and more efficient border operations between the two countries.
Nuvaga stressed the need for both administrations to prioritise real-time data exchange and joint risk-management systems to ensure that cargo and travellers are processed only once, rather than being subjected to multiple and duplicative checks.
He said deeper collaboration between the two countries would not only facilitate legitimate trade but also enhance security and improve the movement of people and goods across the border.
The event climaxed with the launch of the Mfum-Ekok Border Modernisation Initiative, a project designed to deploy technology in customs operations, improve physical infrastructure and unlock new economic opportunities along the border corridor.
Driven by trade technology experts, the initiative is expected to digitise customs workflows, streamline border procedures and support the broader objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
