Nigeria's Free Trade Zones: Customs strengthens its collaboration with NEPZA and OGFZA.

Kathy Kyari

The Directors of the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) and Oil and Gas Free Zone Authority (OGFZA) met with the Ag. Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Bashir Adeniyi MFR, and his Management Team on Friday, July 28, 2023, to address the current situation regarding trade in Nigeria and to work together to take major measures toward enhancing Nigeria's Free Trade Zones Operations.

In response to the calls from the two Organizations, the Ag. CG expressed his gratitude for their visit to the Nigeria Customs Service headquarters to congratulate him on his appointment and to discuss their shared concerns about the future of commerce in the nation.

He added that the Nigeria Customs Service, one of the key components of the Free Zone Scheme, will continue to operate in accordance with the generally accepted trade facilitation regulations in order to provide business people with an easy way to engage in the free zones program in Nigeria.

However, the Ag. CG gave the two heads of customs an assurance that he would cooperate with them. He said, “We need to constitute a joint committee between us and some relevant stakeholders to address our common concerns.”

The Director of the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), Prof. Adesoji Adesoba, told the NCBN Crew shortly after the meeting that he was personally pleased with the way the CGC addressed them and that he was ready to work tirelessly to achieve their goal of improving Free Trade Zones.

However, in a different interview, Senator Tijjani Yahya Kaura, the Managing Director of the Oil and Gas Free Zone Authority (OGFZA), called the cooperation between the Free Trade Zones and Nigeria Customs as essential, adding that “our meeting with the CG is fruitful, as it revolves around proffering solutions to our common issues, and I am happy that the Ag. CGC is committed to addressing them.”