Nigeria, UK Customs forge digital alliance to fix £1.2bn trade gap
Nigeria’s Customs Service and the United Kingdom’s tax and customs authority have agreed to establish a structured data-sharing framework aimed at resolving a staggering £1.2 billion discrepancy in bilateral trade
Nigeria's Customs Service and the United Kingdom's tax and customs authority have agreed to establish a structured data-sharing framework aimed at resolving a staggering £1.2 billion discrepancy in bilateral trade figures, a gap that has long undermined transparency and efficiency across one of West Africa's most critical trade corridors.
The commitment, according to a statement by the NCS spokesperson, Abdullahi Maiwada, emerged from a high-level bilateral meeting held in London on 18 March 2026, on the sidelines of President Bola Tinubu's State Visit to the United Kingdom, under the Nigeria–United Kingdom Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership (ETIP) framework, signalling a new chapter in customs cooperation between Africa's largest economy and its former colonial ruler.
The talks, he said, were led by Comptroller-General of Customs Adewale Adeniyi and Ms Megan Shaw, Head of International Customs and Border Engagement at His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC), and centred on customs modernisation, data transparency in bilateral trade flows, and expanded operational cooperation.
At the heart of the engagement was a striking statistical anomaly: while Nigeria recorded approximately £504 million in UK-origin goods as imports in 2024, the United Kingdom reported exports to Nigeria valued at approximately £1.7 billion for the same period — a mismatch of roughly £1.2 billion that both administrations described as a structural issue demanding coordinated resolution.
To bridge this gap, both parties agreed to explore the establishment of a pre-arrival data exchange framework, linking their respective digital customs platforms to enhance risk management, improve data reconciliation, and tighten compliance monitoring across the Nigeria–UK trade corridor.
Adeniyi, whose service oversees one of Africa's busiest port environments, stressed the strategic importance of the exercise.
"Effective customs cooperation remains a critical enabler of economic growth and sustainable trade development," he stated, adding that "customs administrations serve as the frontline institutions responsible for ensuring that trade flows between both countries are transparent, secure, and mutually beneficial."
The CGC further noted that Nigeria and the United Kingdom share a long-standing economic relationship anchored by active trade across key sectors, including industrial goods, agriculture, energy, and consumer products — sectors that are deeply intertwined with port and maritime logistics operations.
The meeting, Maiwada noted, also gave both sides an opportunity to showcase their respective modernisation programmes. The UK presented advances in artificial intelligence-driven trade tools, digital verification systems, and real-time analytics capabilities — technologies with direct implications for port processing speeds, cargo risk assessment, and border security.
Beyond data reconciliation, the London engagement produced a set of concrete deliverables with far-reaching implications for trade facilitation. These include the development of a Customs Mutual Administrative Assistance Framework, the commencement of technical scoping for capacity-building and knowledge exchange, and the establishment of a joint technical engagement mechanism under the ETIP framework.
For Nigeria's ports and trade ecosystem, the outcomes are significant. "The NCS has reaffirmed its commitment to deepening international partnerships as part of a broader modernisation agenda designed to promote transparency, efficiency, and competitiveness in Nigeria's trading environment," the statement said.
The Service further assured stakeholders that "insights from this engagement will strengthen its operational capacity, enhance trade facilitation, and support Nigeria's economic reform objectives under the Renewed Hope programme."
