Mfum-Ekok Trade : Nigeria, Cameroon Customs Forge Strategic Alliance for Seamless Commerce
Mfum-Ekok Trade : Nigeria, Cameroon Customs Forge Strategic Alliance for Seamless Commerce
The Nigeria Customs Service NCS and the Cameroon Customs Administration have taken a decisive step towards transforming cross-border commerce along Nigeria-Cameroon corridor, with joint assessment of Ekok-Mfum One-Stop Border Post ,OSBP, aimed at dismantling persistent trade barriers, strengthening border security and accelerating regional economic integration.
The high-level assessment, held on Tuesday, 8 September 2026, under the theme, “Leveraging the Nigeria Customs Service Trade Modernisation Project to Advance Seamless Cross-Border Trade and Shared Prosperity,” brought together senior customs officials, technical experts, security agencies, development partners and representatives of border communities from both countries.
Speaking at the engagement, the Comptroller General of Customs, CGC Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, MFR, PhD, described the initiative as a strategic extension of the long-standing cooperation between the two customs administrations.
He observed that although Nigeria and Cameroon share close geographical and commercial relationship, the movement of legitimate goods and people across the border remains burdened by avoidable operational bottlenecks.
According to him, the objective is not to reinvent an existing partnership, but to build upon proven areas of cooperation and develop them into a model capable of supporting wider regional integration.
“We are not building from nothing. We are taking something that works between the two of us and asking whether it can be made to work for the region and hopefully for our continent,” Adeniyi stated.
The CGC acknowledged the strategic contributions of key regional and continental institutions, including the African Development Bank ,AfDB, ECOWAS, ECCAS, Afreximbank and the AfCFTA Secretariat, whose interventions have continued to support efforts towards more efficient, secure and interconnected African borders.
Adeniyi further disclosed that officials from both customs administrations had recently undertaken a study tour of the Beitbridge Border Post, situated between South Africa and Zimbabwe, to examine international best practices in integrated border management and identify operational models adaptable to the Nigeria-Cameroon environment.
He explained that technical teams from both countries are currently working towards the conclusion of a joint operational agreement, which is expected to be signed at the forthcoming C-PACT Conference, further institutionalising cooperation between the two administrations.
On his part, the Director General of Cameroon Customs, Fongod Nuvaga, described the joint assessment as a significant milestone and the first concrete step towards achieving more coordinated border operations between Nigeria and Cameroon.
Nuvaga stressed the importance of real-time information exchange, harmonised procedures and joint risk-management mechanisms, noting that effective border modernisation should ensure that cargoes and travellers are processed seamlessly, rather than being subjected to repetitive and duplicative checks by agencies on either side of the frontier.
The engagement culminated in the launch of the Mfum-Ekok Border Modernisation Initiative, a strategic intervention designed to harness technology and infrastructure development to reshape the border environment.
Beyond easing the movement of goods and people, the initiative is expected to unlock new economic opportunities for border communities while strengthening the capacity of both countries to combat illicit trade and other forms of transnational crime.
The Mfum-Ekok initiative therefore represents more than an infrastructure or customs-modernisation project; it is a practical expression of Nigeria and Cameroon’s shared commitment to seamless trade, secure borders and shared prosperity, while advancing the broader objectives of African Continental Free Trade Area ,AfCFTA.
