Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, and the General Administration of Customs of China, GACC, have deepened ties on cooperation in customs training methodologies, modernisation models and technology-driven solutions.
Spokesman of the NCS, Abdullahi Maiwada, who made this known in a statement, said the deal was imperative, as China plays a pivotal role in Nigeria’s international trade network.
He said the cooperation was facilitated during a recent high-level engagement between top officials of GACC and a 21–member delegation of NCS in Beijing.
The delegation was led by the Commandant of the Nigeria Customs Command and Staff College, NCCSC, Gwagwalada, Oluyomi Adebakin.
He noted that the meeting, held with officials from GACC International Cooperation Division, the Training and Education Centre, and representatives of the Shanghai Customs College, explored bilateral knowledge exchange.
According to him, the bilateral dialogue signals new areas of collaboration, including Nigeria’s participation in upcoming Customs Modernisation Courses and officer development training at Shanghai Customs College.
Maiwada said the meeting was also to explore capacity development in customs administration aimed at strengthening NCS`s operations.
He added that both parties expressed mutual interest in exploring technical exchange programmes, joint research initiatives and officers exchange schemes focused on regional port systems and cross-border intelligence cooperation.
“During the meeting, the Chinese Customs authorities shared their structured training system incorporating virtual reality, VR, 5G-enabled systems and blended e-learning approaches.
“In 2024 alone, GACC conducted over 8,000 physical training sessions and developed 360 online courses,“ he said.
The spokesman said discussions at the meeting also highlighted Nigeria’s active participation in China-led customs development initiatives, with over 200 African customs officers.
He added that this included 89 from Nigeria, having received training since 2023 across various areas such as trade facilitation, anti-smuggling enforcement, food safety supervision and digital port operations.
According to Maiwada, the Chinese Customs officials acknowledged recent reforms within the NCS and commended the country’s growing leadership on international customs platforms.
He said the Chinese Customs officials appreciated the election of the Comptroller-General of NCS, Bashir Adewale-Adeniyi, as the Chairperson of the World Customs Organisation, WCO, Council, which they described as a significant milestone in the service`s diplomacy. NAN
