NIGERIA has been urged to take the lead in driving the implementation of a regional transit guarantee scheme under the new ECOWAS Transit Regulation as part of efforts to reduce trade barriers and strengthen the regional economic integration.

Delivering a keynote at the inaugural session of the Customs Partnership for African Cooperation in Trade (Customs PACT) in Abuja, Executive Vice President of the Intra-African Trade and Export Development at Afreximbank, Kanayo Awani, highlighted the inefficiencies plaguing the current interstate road transit system, with the absence of a unified regional transit guarantee as a factor.

She said the gap has left customs authorities heavily dependent on physical escorts for goods in transit, raising costs and slowing movement across borders.
The Customs PACT roundtable, organised by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in collaboration with Afreximbank, the AfCFTA Secretariat and the World Customs Organisation, aimed to transform customs business relations and strengthen Africa’s position in global trade.

Awani said Afreximbank is implementing a $1 billion African Collaborative Transit Guarantee Scheme, designed to secure customs duties through a single transit bond. The model, already running under a $300 million facility with ZEP RE in COMESA and the East African Community, eliminates the need for multiple national transit bonds, cuts bureaucratic delays and reduces transaction costs for businesses.

She noted that when fully rolled out across Africa, the scheme could save the continent at least $300 million yearly in transit-related costs.
She noted that Afreximbank is willing to partner with Nigeria and ECOWAS to establish one-stop border posts and modern customs infrastructure, citing the successful upgrade of Beitbridge between South Africa and Zimbabwe, where clearance times dropped from three to five days to just three to five hours.

Awani stressed that unresolved “soft infrastructure” issues, especially weak customs systems, poor interoperability and lack of harmonised procedures, account for 75 per cent of delays in the movement of goods across Africa, according to AUDA-NEPAD.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had noted that the initiative aligns with his administration’s goals of deepening regional integration, enhancing trade facilitation and positioning Nigeria as a competitive hub in the global economy.