Monday, November 3, 2025 - The Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, has led a delegation from the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to the Netherlands for a two-day bilateral working visit aimed at strengthening cooperation on trade facilitation, port efficiency, and border management between the two countries.
According to a statement issued by the NCS on Sunday, the
visit, which took place between 29 and 31 October 2025, featured a series of
high-level technical engagements, institutional briefings, and strategic
meetings with Dutch authorities and Customs experts.
During the sessions, CGC Adeniyi commended the Dutch
Customs’ structured approach to classification and risk management, noting that
“the presentations have been particularly insightful in showing how systematic
collaboration and data-driven analysis can enhance compliance and trade
facilitation across borders.”
He stated that the Nigeria Customs Service “remained
committed to adopting international best practices that balance enforcement
with facilitation, ensuring that legitimate trade thrives while revenue and
security interests are safeguarded.”
The delegation later proceeded to Schiphol Airport, where
officials of Schiphol Cargo made a detailed presentation on cargo clearance and
classification systems at one of Europe’s busiest air freight hubs. The session
provided a firsthand understanding of the Netherlands’ use of automation,
pre-arrival processing, and coordinated border management in handling
high-volume air cargo.
At the meeting, Deputy Comptroller-General Caroline Niagwan,
who heads the Tariff and Trade Department, expressed appreciation for the
Netherlands’ structured cargo processes, saying that “the practical insights
gained here will be instrumental in improving Nigeria’s own cargo handling
systems, especially within our ongoing modernisation drive.”
The engagement continued with a bilateral session at the
Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, hosted by Director-General of
International Trade, Mr Machiel Zweers, where both sides discussed frameworks
for technical assistance and knowledge exchange. Zweers reaffirmed the
Netherlands’ commitment to fostering mutual learning between the two Customs
administrations, describing the visit as “a new chapter of institutional
partnership built on trust and innovation.”
The delegation also held a high-level meeting at the
Netherlands Ministry of Finance to wrap up the two-day visit. The session
reviewed key observations and findings from the engagements. It explored
mechanisms to formalise a collaborative agreement in areas such as tariff
classification, risk management, trade facilitation, and gender equity.
CGC Adeniyi described the wrap-up meeting as a “constructive
platform to consolidate lessons learned and translate them into practical
frameworks that will strengthen Nigeria’s Customs modernisation programme and
compliance culture.”
In the same vein, the Director-General of International
Trade, Machiel Zweers, expressed optimism that the engagement would lay a
strong foundation for long-term institutional collaboration.
The visit concluded with a guided tour of the Port of
Rotterdam (Portlandis), where the NCS management was briefed on the port’s
integrated logistics operations, advanced cargo-tracking systems, and
intermodal transport models. The tour, according to the CGC, “was an eye-opener
on how synergy between Customs and port authorities can create an enabling
environment for seamless trade and revenue optimisation.”
In his closing remarks, CGC Adeniyi emphasised that the
visit symbolised the Nigeria Customs Service’s strategic intent to benchmark
global standards. “This engagement has provided us with a clearer picture of
how modern Customs administrations can achieve efficiency through partnership,
technology, and shared expertise,” he said.
Similarly, DCG Niagwan noted that “the Netherlands model
demonstrates that inclusivity, data intelligence, and inter-agency trust are
indispensable elements of an effective Customs system.”
The visit, anchored on cooperation, mutual respect, and
institutional learning, reinforces NCS’s commitment to transforming its
processes in line with global best practices under the leadership of CGC
Adewale Adeniyi.
Members of the CGC’s delegation included DCG Caroline
Niagwan, DCG in charge of the Tariff and Trade Department and chairperson of
the Service’s Gender Equality Programme; Deputy Comptroller Etim Ibok, CGC’s
Special Assistant; Assistant Comptroller Abdullahi Maiwada, National Public
Relations Officer; and Assistant Comptroller Lauretta Utubor, Team Lead of
Nigeria’s Advance Ruling System, among others.
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