President Bola Tinubu has hailed the continental endorsement of Nigeria’s customs modernisation programme, declaring the selection of a Nigerian-owned company for a 20-year, multi-billion-dollar AfCFTA Customs Modernisation Project a major victory for indigenous innovation and Nigeria’s growing influence in Africa.
The President said the development demonstrated that solutions developed, tested and refined in Nigeria could now serve as a blueprint for transforming trade facilitation across the continent.
The project will be implemented through AfriTrade CMP Limited, a subsidiary of Bergmans Security Consultant and Supplies Limited, and is expected to deploy digital and physical infrastructure for customs processing, cargo tracking, border management and trade-data exchange across participating African countries.
In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu commended Bergmans Security Consultant and Supplies Limited for what he described as a demonstration of Nigeria’s capacity to develop homegrown solutions for African challenges.
The President said the continental adoption of the model represented a validation of Nigeria’s efforts to modernise its customs administration and strengthen the country’s role in driving African economic integration.
According to Tinubu, the development reinforces the principle that Africans must increasingly build solutions for African opportunities.
‘Africa Choosing African Solutions’
Tinubu linked the development to his administration’s Nigeria First policy, saying the government would continue creating an environment in which capable Nigerian businesses could compete not only domestically but across Africa and the global marketplace.
He commended Bergmans, AfriTrade CMP Limited, Trade Modernisation Project Limited, the Nigeria Customs Service and Comptroller-General Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, alongside the Nigerian professionals involved in the modernisation programme.
The President said their efforts had helped earn Nigeria’s customs technology the confidence of continental institutions.
The endorsement received further weight with the visit of AfCFTA Secretary-General Wamkele Mene to Abuja to formalise the agreement and inspect Nigeria’s customs modernisation programme.
Mene subsequently visited the headquarters of the Nigeria Customs Service, where he inspected the system alongside members of the Senate Committee on Customs led by Senator Jibrin Isah.
Mene Backs B’Odogwu For Africa
Mene described B’Odogwu, Nigeria’s indigenous Unified Customs Management System, as a potential model for the continent.
He noted that while comparable customs services had previously been provided by non-African companies, the AfCFTA decision to embrace an African-developed solution demonstrated the continent’s growing confidence in its own technological capabilities.
The development marks a significant shift in the narrative around Africa’s capacity to develop sophisticated digital infrastructure for its own economic transformation.
Senator Jibrin Isah said members of the Senate Committee on Customs had effectively become ambassadors of the system after witnessing its operations firsthand.
B’Odogwu At Centre Of Customs Revolution
First piloted in October 2024, B’Odogwu has become a central component of Nigeria’s customs modernisation drive.
The system operates alongside a broader architecture involving cargo tracking, data infrastructure, surveillance, risk management and non-intrusive inspection, all aimed at making customs operations more efficient, transparent and technology-driven.
The programme is also being integrated with Nigeria’s National Single Window, launched in March 2026 as a unified digital gateway for cross-border trade processes.
The integration is expected to reduce bureaucratic bottlenecks, improve data exchange and make the movement of goods across Nigeria’s borders faster and more predictable.
Tinubu: Faster Borders, Lower Costs
Tinubu said the true promise of the African Continental Free Trade Area would only be achieved when African businesses could move goods across borders faster, cheaper and with fewer obstacles.
He reaffirmed Nigeria’s readiness to deploy its experience, technology and entrepreneurial capacity toward building an efficient African single market.
The President’s endorsement of the AfCFTA project also positions the development as more than a customs reform initiative—it is a major test of whether African-developed technology can power African economic integration.
With a Nigerian customs modernisation model now gaining continental recognition, the Tinubu administration is projecting the development as a powerful demonstration of its Nigeria First agenda.
