By Uloma Peace Okorie
ABUJA, September 9, 2026 — The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and the Cameroon Customs Administration have renewed their commitment to transforming the Ekok-Mfum border into a modern, efficient and business-friendly gateway capable of boosting trade and strengthening economic ties between both countries.
The commitment followed a high-level joint assessment of the Ekok-Mfum One-Stop Border Post (OSBP) on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, as both countries moved to deepen cooperation, enhance border security and facilitate the seamless movement of legitimate goods and travellers.
The exercise, themed “Leveraging the Nigeria Customs Service Trade Modernisation Project to Advance Seamless Cross-Border Trade and Shared Prosperity,” brought together customs authorities, technical experts, security agencies, development partners and community leaders from Nigeria and Cameroon.
At the centre of the initiative is the determination to leverage technology and modern customs practices to make cross-border trade faster, safer and more efficient.
Speaking at the event, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, reaffirmed the strong relationship between the two customs administrations, stressing that the latest initiative would build on existing cooperation while opening new opportunities for regional integration.
Adeniyi said the objective was not merely to improve operations between Nigeria and Cameroon, but to develop a model that could contribute to smoother trade across the region and ultimately the African continent.
“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,” he said.»
The CGC also highlighted the support of key regional and international institutions, including the African Development Bank, ECOWAS, ECCAS, Afreximbank and the AfCFTA Secretariat, in advancing the border modernisation agenda.
In a further demonstration of the NCS’s commitment to adopting global best practices, Adeniyi disclosed that Nigerian and Cameroonian customs officials recently embarked on a study tour of the Beitbridge Border Post between South Africa and Zimbabwe.
The study tour was designed to examine successful models of coordinated border management and identify practices that could be adapted to the Ekok-Mfum corridor.
He added that technical teams from both countries were already working to finalise a joint operational agreement expected to be signed at the forthcoming C-PACT conference.
The Director-General of Cameroon Customs, Fongod Nuvaga, described the assessment as an important milestone towards achieving greater coordination between both administrations.
Nuvaga called for enhanced real-time data sharing and joint risk-management systems, which would enable customs authorities to process cargo and travellers more efficiently and reduce unnecessary duplication of checks.
The initiative is expected to deliver significant benefits to traders, transporters, travellers and border communities by improving clearance processes, reducing delays and creating a more predictable environment for legitimate commerce.
The joint assessment also culminated in the launch of the Mfum-Ekok Border Modernisation Initiative, which will focus on digitising customs procedures, upgrading infrastructure and creating new economic opportunities along the border corridor.
The initiative is closely aligned with the objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and represents another positive step towards turning the Nigeria-Cameroon border into a stronger engine of trade, investment and shared prosperity.
With the renewed bilateral commitment and the NCS’s growing emphasis on technology-driven trade facilitation, the Ekok-Mfum corridor is poised to become a model of modern and coordinated border management in the region