Nigeria, Benin Customs harmonise cross border trade procedures, conduct assessment

By Godwin Oritse

The Customs administrations of Nigeria and Benin Republic on Friday conducted a joint assessment of the One-Stop Border Post as part of efforts to deepen regional economic integration, harmonise cross-border procedures, reduce trade barriers and facilitate the seamless movement of legitimate goods and services between both countries.

Speaking at the ceremony at Seme Krake border town, Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, Mr. Adewale Adeniyi said that the objective of assessment is review the operational readiness, observe border processes and facilities and demonstrate the Border – Modernization solution supporting secure cross-border interoperability between Nigeria and Benin.

Adeniyi also said that Sèmè–Kraké sits on the Abidjan–Lagos Corridor, which carries in the order of 70 per cent of the whole sub-region’s transit trade adding that it is among the busiest land crossings in West Africa and, by many accounts, on the African continent.
He explained that the border operates around the clock, every day of the year. A corridor of that weight does not fail quietly.
“Every hour lost at this gate is multiplied across thousands of consignments and tens of thousands of travellers, and is paid for in the price of goods in markets from Cotonou to Lagos. Conversely, an hour saved here is saved for the whole region. There are few places on this continent where the ratio between effort and effect is as favourable as it is at this crossing.
“Two administrations presently work under one roof, but they do not work on one system. There is still no seamless real-time exchange of declarations, manifests, transit information, risk profiles or enforcement alerts between us
“That is why the Nigeria Customs Service has come to Sèmè–Kraké with a specific offer. We are here to close the systems gap. Work is under way on the interconnection of our two administrations through a common data exchange arrangement, building on the regional transit experience we have both gained, so that a declaration lodged on one side is visible on the other in real time, so that transit can be tracked from origin to destination, and so that a risk profile or an enforcement alert raised by one administration reaches the other while it is still useful.
“I want to turn now to a group of people who are easy to overlook at a ceremony of this kind, and who are the majority of those who actually use this border. Across Africa, women make up more than 70 per cent of those engaged in informal cross-border trade.
“On this corridor the pattern is pronounced. Some 22 per cent of Benin’s informal exports are destined for Nigeria. Informal trade is estimated to account for a fifth of economic activity in Nigeria and a far higher share in Benin.”
Adeniyi commended the Customs administration of Benin Republic for the trust and confidence it has in the leadership of Nigeria Customs to drive the initiative of the One Stop Border Port.
Similarly, the Benin Customs Director General, Raouf Malehossou, commended Nigeria for the initiative to integrate trade within the Sub-region for economic growth.