President commends Bergmans as Nigerian firm wins multi-billion-dollar continental customs project
By Suleiman Aremu | Solaremnews
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has welcomed the growing continental recognition of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) modernisation programme, describing the selection of a Nigerian-owned firm to implement a 20-year, multi-billion-dollar African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Customs Modernisation Project as a validation of Nigeria’s capacity to develop homegrown solutions for the wider African market.
The President’s commendation was contained in a State House press release issued on Monday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, following the selection of AfriTrade CMP Limited, a subsidiary of Nigerian-owned Bergmans Security Consultant and Supplies Limited, to implement the continental customs modernisation 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.
President Tinubu noted that the development was particularly significant because another subsidiary of Bergmans, Trade Modernisation Project Limited, is already implementing Nigeria’s homegrown customs modernisation programme through the Nigeria Customs Service.
According to him, the development demonstrates the growing depth of Nigerian expertise in customs administration, digital transformation and trade infrastructure, with solutions developed and tested in Nigeria now attracting attention beyond the country.
“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 market,” President Tinubu said.
He added that Nigerian institutions and businesses had the capacity to develop the technology and infrastructure required to make Africa’s single market more efficient and competitive.
The President further said his administration, under the Nigeria First policy, would continue to create opportunities for capable Nigerian businesses to compete domestically, 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,” he said.
President Tinubu also linked the continental recognition to the transformation taking place within the Nigeria Customs Service under the leadership of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, MFR.
He said the growing interest in Nigerian-developed customs technologies and systems underscored the importance of sustained investment in digital transformation, institutional capacity and indigenous expertise.
The President’s position followed a recent 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 was accompanied by 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, the AfCFTA Secretary-General described B’Odogwu, Nigeria’s indigenous Unified Customs Management System, as a model with potential for adoption across the African continent.
Mene disclosed that non-African companies had also offered similar solutions, but stressed that the AfCFTA had chosen an African solution, describing the development as an important demonstration of African expertise, innovation and enterprise in building the continent’s trade architecture.
The Senate Committee on Customs also expressed support for the modernisation programme after witnessing the systems in operation.
Senator Isah said members of the committee had become ambassadors of the customs modernisation initiative, indicating legislative support for the continued transformation of the Service.
B’Odogwu, which was first piloted in October 2024, has emerged as a major component of the NCS modernisation programme. The system supports the digitalisation of customs processes and is being deployed 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, which was 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 international trade by facilitating more efficient, transparent and coordinated cross-border processes.
The selection of AfriTrade CMP Limited for the continental project therefore represents another major recognition of the capabilities being developed within Nigeria’s customs modernisation ecosystem.
For the Tinubu administration, the development also reinforces its emphasis on indigenous capacity, positioning Nigerian businesses to provide technology and infrastructure solutions not only for domestic needs but also for markets across Africa.
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