By Tony Obiechina, Abuja

The Acting Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi has expressed the commitment of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to partner with his Benin Republic Counterpart to curb smuggling and boost cross-border trade between the two countries.

He made this known while declaring open a two-day interactive session between the Nigeria Customs Service and Benin Republic Customs in Abuja, according to a statement issued by the National Public Relations Officer of Customs Abdullahi Maiwada.

The meeting aimed to strengthen further the already existing bilateral trade ties and cooperation between the two countries, which will pave the way for a comprehensive mechanism to harmonize the import prohibition lists of the two countries.

Speaking further, the Acting CGC appreciated the Benin Customs and the country’s Embassy for expressing interest in collaborating with the Nigeria Customs Service to enhance trade facilitation.

“The Customs administration in both countries have a very good idea and technical know-how on what it means with trade; thus, we are back with a renewed enthusiasm to foster our relationship and make an impact on our trade facilitation roadmap.” the Acting CGC said.

“It is our hope that the program will address the issues of trade and set a roadmap for implementation of new strategies that will enhance the economy and revenue in Nigeria and Benin Republic. Thus, our organizations need to come up with ideas that will address the issues of transit and other progressive measures”, he added.

Adeniyi noted that with the increasing global security challenges, the need for both customs administrations to work in synergy cannot be over-emphasized, adding that their intended mutualism will boost their relationship to improve the economy of both two nations.