Nigeria and the Republic of Benin have reached a landmark agreement on a joint trade framework aimed at deepening economic integration, eliminating trade barriers, and unlocking new development opportunities across both countries.
The agreement was finalized during a high-level meeting held at the Ministère de l’Économie et des Finances in Cotonou, Benin Republic, over the weekend. According to a statement by Customs spokesperson, Dr. Abdullahi Maiwada, the meeting brought together top government officials, customs leaders, and trade experts from both nations to design a collaborative pathway for streamlined cross-border trade.
Nigeria’s Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, Mrs. Jumoke Oduwole, hailed the new framework as a bold advancement in West Africa’s regional economic integration strategy. She noted that the pact demonstrates strong political will from both nations to pursue a forward-looking and inclusive trade relationship.
Referencing the recent signing of a preliminary Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by Presidents Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Patrice Talon at the West African Economic Summit, Oduwole said both leaders had tasked their technical teams with transforming political agreements into tangible policies.
“Our shared commitment is to remove trade barriers, enhance logistics, and position trade as a vehicle for job creation and prosperity in the region,” she stated. “We have established four thematic working groups focused on trade facilitation, enforcement, data sharing, and infrastructure, building on the synergy between both customs agencies.”
Oduwole reiterated Nigeria’s ambition to not only lead regional trade but also contribute to shaping fair and inclusive global trade systems.
The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Adewale Adeniyi, MFR, emphasized the Service’s readiness to operationalize the outcomes of the agreement in line with Nigeria’s national trade goals. He described the meeting as the culmination of 48 hours of intensive technical deliberations between Nigeria and Benin customs teams.
“We now have a joint framework that aligns with the shared vision of our Presidents to drive economic transformation,” he said, adding that a formal MoU expanding on the framework is expected to be signed in the first quarter of 2026.
Highlighting efforts to ensure smoother trade operations, Adeniyi announced the introduction of corridor-based strategies to support transit and transshipment trade, especially for small and medium-scale enterprises. He affirmed that connectivity between customs systems has already been activated and new trade corridors have been identified to reduce bureaucratic bottlenecks.
Adeniyi also acknowledged the support of his Beninese counterpart, Mrs. Adidjatou Hassan Zanouvi, Director-General of Benin Customs, for her cooperation and for backing Nigeria’s leadership bid at the World Customs Organisation (WCO) Council meeting in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.
As part of the engagement, both delegations conducted a joint inspection of the Cotonou Port to review port procedures and discuss modernisation initiatives. They also visited the Seme-Krake Joint Border Post to demonstrate their commitment to coordinated border management and deeper economic integration.
The newly agreed trade framework is expected to usher in a new era of Nigeria-Benin trade relations, driven by transparency, technology, and mutual growth.
