Nigeria's Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, has called on African countries to prioritise intra-African trade as global economic tensions and protectionist policies tighten access to traditional export markets.
Edun made the call in Abuja at the 4th World Customs Organisation Donors Conference for the West and Central Africa Region.
The minister warned that recent trade wars, particularly between the United States and other global powers, were already affecting countries across West and Central Africa. He noted that eight countries in the region—including Nigeria, Cameroon and Côte d'Ivoire—now face an average tariff of 13.83% on exports to the U.S.
"These actions not only increase the cost of our exports but also weaken our competitiveness," he said. He also pointed to the withdrawal of critical foreign development assistance in areas like health and education as another sign that African countries can no longer depend solely on external support.
Edun urged governments in the region to accelerate trade integration under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), improve domestic revenue systems, and invest in resilient customs and trade infrastructure.
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He also described customs reform as key to boosting economic growth, saying modern and efficient border processes would send a strong message to global investors that the region is serious about business.
On his part, Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, said the NCS had already started testing several new trade facilitation initiatives and was prepared to serve as a training hub for other countries in the region.
He said the NCS had developed training modules in key customs areas and was ready to share them across the region, calling for deeper collaboration between customs administrations and development partners.
Also speaking at the event, the World Customs Organisation's representative, Ebenezer Taofik, said capacity building must remain a top priority for customs agencies in the region.
He noted that the WCO had supported improvements in several areas, including post-clearance audits, trade facilitation, and anti-corruption efforts. However, rising demand for training and limited resources meant agencies must now be more strategic in how they allocate support.
