The Nigerian government through the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and Benin Republic have agreed to address the multiple taxes on transit cargoes along the ECOWAS corridor.
This was disclosed by the Acting Comptroller-General of NCS, Mr. Adewale Adeniyi, during a working visit to Cotonou between both countries.
They also agreed to harmonize the import prohibition policy to ensure that whatever was banned in Nigeria would also be banned in Benin.
Trade
The Nigerian official stated that they would work to promote the ECOWAS trade liberalization scheme and the facilitation of the movement of goods and community products, adding:
- “On the measures to be taken to ensure a good relationship between the two countries, there is a need to promote the ECOWAS trade liberalization scheme and the facilitation of the movement of goods and community products.”
- “Ensure the removal of barriers and other obstacles to legitimate trade and the establishment of customs units when the traffic justifies it.
- “Ensure strict compliance with transit rules and harmonization of the list of products prohibited by the two countries.
Integration
Adeniyi called for both countries to strengthen the fight against cross-border crime through cooperation, intelligence sharing and the pooling of resources, citing that Nigeria and the Benin Republic would be holding meetings twice a year to discuss matters of common interest, he added:
- “There should be rapid integration of Nigeria into the Interconnected System for the Management of Goods in Transit (SIGMAT) which already includes the Customs Administrations of Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo,”
- “There will be the reactivation of the joint committee for monitoring trade and transit relations.”
- “Also there will be a revival of consultation frameworks of border customs units with the active participation of the private sector,” he said.
Adeniyi thanked his counterpart from Benin Republic, the Senior Minister in charge of Economy and Finance, Mr. Romuald Wadagni, Benin Republic President, Patrice Talon and the people of Benin Republic for the warm welcome and invited the Director-General of Benin Republic Customs, Mr. Alain Hinkati, to make an official working visit to Nigeria to follow up on the conclusions.
Bilateral agreement
During a meeting at the Nigerian Embassy in the Benin Republic, Adeniyi conveyed to the Nigerian Ambassador, Mr. Olukayode Aluko, the intention to reevaluate the existing border agreement.
Aluko noted that there was a need for the customs boss to engage his Benin counterpart robustly as they were willing to work with Nigeria.
- “The Benin Republic is eager to do business with us and as such we need to direct our attention to having a conducive environment and ensuring the borders are opened on terms that are comparatively favourable.”
- “The ultimate goal is to have a Nigeria/Benin Joint Commission and we intend to achieve this by the end of the year,” he said.
