The Nigeria Customs Service and the Ghana Revenue Authority have expressed interest in forging a partnership to combat illicit trade by strengthening border control and intelligence sharing between the two countries.

The organisations expressed this interest during a visit by NCS comptroller-general Bashir Adeniyi to GRA commissioner-general Anthony Sarpong at the GRA headquarters in Accra on Monday.

Speaking during the visit, Mr Sarpong urged Nigeria and Ghana to strengthen intelligence sharing and harmonise customs procedures to support the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement.

Mr Sarpong said the partnership was crucial for promoting best practices in trade operations while upholding integrity and excellence. He added that the NCS had continued to inspire Ghana’s vision and innovation in customs operations.

Mr Sarpong described Mr Adeniyi’s visit as necessary to galvanise support for the Customs-Partnership for African Cooperation in Trade conference, scheduled to be held in Abuja. The C-PACT initiative, conceived by the NCS in collaboration with the African Export-Import Bank, will hold its conference in Abuja from November 17 to 19.

Supported by the World Customs Organisation, C-PACT aims to set new standards for cross-border cooperation and trade facilitation by establishing a transparent and agile customs framework that promotes lawful trade and sustainable economic growth.

“Your visit today also reflects the strong and enduring bond between Ghana and Nigeria. Our nations are united by history, culture, and a shared vision to strengthen customs operations,” Mr Sarpong said.

Mr Adeniyi noted that criminal elements were exploiting gaps in Africa’s customs administrations to perpetrate illicit trade, necessitating concerted efforts to address the issue. He said Ghana and Nigeria could review their previous agreement on joint customs operations to align with current realities in the sector and enhance trade facilitation.

“Back then, in 2001, we actually signed the document bringing our two customs administrations together. It would be my wish that we take a second look at the document and see how we can breathe more life into it and seek further areas where we can collaborate.

“I was in the Netherlands last week, and our colleagues in customs told me about how criminals are now exploiting the gaps between customs administrations in our region,” the NCS boss explained.

Mr Adeniyi added, “They use these gaps as avenues of evil to transport dangerous drugs into the Netherlands, which is seen as a gateway into Europe. So, the more we work together and more closely in exchanging intelligence, building capacity, the more we will be able to forge a stronger bond against these criminals.”

He said his visit to the GRA`s boss was to seek  his support for the success of the C-PACT conference. He also mentioned that it was also to explore strategies on how best customs administrations could play their role in increasing trade volumes in Africa under the framework of the AfCFTA.

(NAN)