World Bank, others to streamline Nigeria’s trade processes, border inspection

The World Bank and Ministry of Trade and Investment have partnered the Nigeria Shippers’ Council (NSC) to reduce inspections at the borders and improve trade facilitation to boost the country’s economy.

The partnership arrangement was unveiled when members of the Enhanced National Trade Facilitation Committee and representatives of the World Bank visited the NSC in Lagos.

Leader of the World Bank delegation, Aleksandar Stojanov, said the bank was on a fact-finding mission that would guide the dialogue on trade, reduce dwell time and improve trade processes.

He said the bank considers ways to support the government in terms of improving competitiveness and domestic value addition so that Nigeria can take full advantage of regional trade agreements such as the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) as well as other international agreements.

Stojanov said supporting trade facilitation depends on reducing inspections at the border and improving trade facilitation overall to the authorised economic operator system, which has been launched with the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS). He explained that the World Bank’s visit was to fully understand the daily operations, inspection processes, trade bottlenecks and identify policy options to make trade seamless for the Nigerian government.

“Today, the World Bank has state-level trade operations, which has an inter-state trade indicator for seamless movement of goods across states in Nigeria and export promotion at the state level,” he said.

The Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr Doris Udoka-Anite, emphasised that the benefits of achieving harmonised, standardised and simplified trading processes and procedures are immense and cannot be overstated.

Udoka-Anite, who was represented by an Assistant Director in the Office of the Minister, Dr. Brenda Max-Nduagube, noted that trade facilitation has been a focal point of discussions at national, regional and international levels.

She commended the World Bank for its steadfast support and collaboration, which have been instrumental in advancing Nigeria’s national trade facilitation goals while positioning her as a leading trade hub in the region.

She further commended members of the Enhanced National Trade Facilitation Committee for tirelessly fostering collaboration and synergy across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), the private sector and civil society, thereby paving the way for a more integrated and efficient trade facilitation framework.

On his part, the Executive Secretary of the NSC, Pius Akutah, noted that the Council is one of the major stakeholders in trade facilitation in Nigeria, and West Africa at large, as well as a member of the ECOWAS Trade Facilitation Committee, among others.

He said the council works with transport and cross-border infrastructures to reduce transport bottlenecks and facilitate trade, both in local and international markets.

Akutah said to consolidate this effort and that of the international agencies, the Council has embarked on trade facilitation tools such as the inland dry ports, and complaint centres across the country.

He said this was to facilitate trade in the hinterlands and decongest the seaports, especially Apapa and Tin Can Island. Akutah disclosed that while on its mandatory activities, the NSC discovered that many traders along the border corridors perform their activities informally, with many small-scale businesses carrying out their trades very well.

“We intend to do everything within our mandate to ensure that we formalise these activities. This has necessitated the Council’s collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service and other stakeholders to establish Border Information Centres at the borders,” Akutah added. He assured that the World Bank, Ministry of Trade and Investment and the National Trade Facilitation Committee of the NSC would continue to partner to improve trade and other related activities.