By Peace Udugba- The daily torch media
President commends Bergmans as Nigerian firm wins multi-billion-dollar continental customs project
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has welcomed the growing continental recognition of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) modernisation programme following the selection of a subsidiary of Nigerian-owned Bergmans Security Consultant and Supplies Limited for a 20-year, multi-billion-dollar African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Customs Modernisation Project.
President Tinubu described the development as a validation of Nigeria’s growing capacity to develop homegrown solutions capable of serving the wider African market.
The President’s commendation was contained in a State House press release issued on Monday, August 10, 2026, by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, following the selection of Bergmans’ subsidiary, AfriTrade CMP Limited, to implement the continental project.
The project is designed to deploy digital and physical infrastructure to improve customs processes, cargo tracking, border management and trade-data exchange across participating African countries.
According to Tinubu, the development is particularly significant because another subsidiary of the Nigerian firm, Trade Modernisation Project Limited, is already implementing Nigeria’s homegrown customs modernisation programme through the NCS.
He said this demonstrates the depth of Nigerian expertise increasingly shaping the future of customs administration and continental trade infrastructure.
“What has been built and tested in Nigeria is now providing a model for the continent. This is how African integration should work: Africans building African solutions for African markets.
“Nigerian institutions and businesses can help build the technology and infrastructure that will make that market work. Under our Nigeria First policy, we will continue to create opportunities for capable Nigerian businesses to compete at home, across Africa and globally.
“I commend Bergmans, AfriTrade CMP Limited, Trade Modernisation Project Limited, the Nigeria Customs Service, CGC Bashir Adewale Adeniyi and the Nigerian professionals whose work has earned this confidence,” the President said.
Tinubu further noted that the continental recognition of Nigeria’s customs modernisation model reflects progress in the transformation of the Service under the leadership of Comptroller-General of Customs Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, MFR.
He stressed that the growing adoption of Nigerian-developed customs technologies and systems demonstrates the value of sustained investment in digital transformation, institutional capacity and indigenous expertise.
AfCFTA backs Nigeria’s customs modernisation model
The President’s position was reinforced during a visit by the Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, Wamkele Mene, to the NCS headquarters in Abuja, where he inspected the Trade Modernisation Project in operation.
Mene’s visit was undertaken alongside members of the Senate Committee on Customs, led by Senator Jibrin Isah, following the conclusion of a two-day retreat focused on customs modernisation and reforms.
During the visit, Mene described B’Odogwu, Nigeria’s indigenous Unified Customs Management System, as a model with potential for wider adoption across Africa.
He disclosed that non-African companies had also offered similar solutions but emphasised that AfCFTA had chosen an African solution, highlighting the importance of African expertise, innovation and enterprise in building the continent’s trade architecture.
Senator Isah, after witnessing the systems in operation, similarly expressed the committee’s support for the initiative, saying members had become ambassadors of the modernisation programme.
B’Odogwu at centre of Customs digital transformation
B’Odogwu, which was first piloted in October 2024, has become a central component of Nigeria Customs’ modernisation programme, supporting the digitalisation of customs processes alongside cargo tracking, data infrastructure, surveillance, risk management and non-intrusive inspection capabilities.
The modernisation programme is also being integrated with the National Single Window, launched in March 2026 as a single digital gateway for cross-border trade processes.
The integration is expected to further strengthen Nigeria’s digital and institutional architecture for faster, more transparent and efficient trade.
The development positions Nigeria’s Customs modernisation programme as an emerging reference point for wider African customs reform and supports the Federal Government’s broader push to promote Nigerian technology, expertise and businesses across the continent.
Categories: Politics, Nigeria Customs Service, AfCFTA, Business, Trade, Economy
