The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and Cameroon Customs Administration have commenced a joint assessment of the Ekok-Mfum One-Stop Border Post (OSBP).
The assessment is aimed to remove barriers to cross-border trade and strengthen regional economic integration between both countries.
The high-level exercise held on Wednesday at Mfum, near Ikom Local Government Area of Cross River State, under the theme, ‘Leveraging the Nigeria Customs Service Trade Modernisation Project.’
It brought together customs authorities, technical experts, security agencies, development partners and community leaders from Nigeria and Cameroon.
Speaking at the event, Comptroller-General of Customs, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, said the initiative would build on existing cooperation between both customs administrations.
He said the objective was to create a more efficient border management system and facilitate smoother trade across the region.
“We are not building from nothing. We are taking something that works between the two of us,” Adeniyi said.
He said the initiative would determine whether existing cooperation could be expanded to benefit the region and the continent.
Adeniyi said geographical proximity and longstanding relationships between communities on both sides had not ensured seamless movement of people and goods.
He said movement across the border remained unnecessarily challenging, stressing the need for more coordinated border operations.
The Comptroller-General identified AfDB, ECOWAS, ECCAS, Afreximbank and the AfCFTA Secretariat as key partners in improving cross-border trade.
He said Nigerian and Cameroonian customs officials had recently undertaken a study tour of the Beitbridge Border Post.
The border post links South Africa and Zimbabwe and provided an opportunity to examine best practices in border management.
According to him, technical teams from Nigeria and Cameroon are working to conclude a joint operational agreement.
He added that the agreement was expected to be signed at the forthcoming C-PACT conference.
Also speaking, Cameroon’s Director-General of Customs, Mr Fongod Nuvaga, described the assessment as the first concrete step towards coordinated operations.
He said the coordinated operations would focus on improving efficiency at the Mfum-Ekok border.
Nuvaga urged both countries to prioritise real-time data sharing and joint risk-management systems.
He said this would reduce duplication of checks on cargo and travellers at the border.
According to him, goods and travellers should be processed efficiently instead of undergoing repetitive procedures on both sides.
The exercise also featured the launch of the Mfum-Ekok Border Modernisation Initiative.
The initiative seeks to deploy technology, upgrade border infrastructure and create an environment conducive to increased trade and investment.
It is expected to support AfCFTA objectives by reducing trade barriers and improving border efficiency.
The initiative is also expected to strengthen economic cooperation between Nigeria and Cameroon.
The Mfum-Ekok corridor links Nigeria’s Cross River State with Cameroon’s South-West Region.
It serves as an important gateway for the movement of people and goods between the two countries.
(NAN)
