Nigeria Customs, Manufacturers Association Partner to Boost Industrial Growth

Nigeria Customs, Manufacturers Association Partner to Boost Industrial Growth

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) have agreed on new measures to strengthen trade facilitation and industrial growth in the country.

At a high-level consultation in Lagos on Friday, September 26, 2025, which lasted over six hours, Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, and MAN President, Francis Meshioye, signed a joint communiqué described as a “turning point” in their relationship.

A major outcome was the approval of exemptions from the 4% Free on Board (FOB) levy by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun. The waivers apply to raw materials, machinery, spare parts under the ECOWAS Common External Tariff (CET) Chapters 98 and 99, government projects with Import Duty Exemption Certificates, humanitarian goods, healthcare-related imports, and airline spare parts.

Adeniyi also announced plans for a “One-Stop-Shop” trade platform to simplify regulatory processes, reduce bureaucracy, and cut clearance times. He further promised to streamline checkpoints and address operational bottlenecks such as excessive alerts and system glitches.

Meshioye welcomed the reforms, praising the Customs leadership for a new spirit of partnership. Both parties also agreed to set up a tripartite consultation mechanism with the Ministry of Finance to enable regular policy dialogue and monitoring.