The Nigeria Customs Service has sensitised maritime stakeholders on the procedures and benefits of migrating to the Authorised Economic Operator Programme from the Fast Track ahead of the December 2025 deadline.

Speaking during the sensitisation exercise in Ikeja on Wednesday, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, explained that the AEO is a paradigm shift from the way the Service previously related with stakeholders.

The event was themed, ‘From Fast Track to AEO: Enhancing Trade Facilitation and Supply Chain Security in Nigeria’.

Represented at the event by the Zonal Coordinator, Zone A of the Service, Charles Obih, an Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs, added that the event is timely and strategic.

Recall that the AEO was first piloted in Nigeria in April 2024, and following thorough testing, capacity building, and stakeholders’ consultations, the national launch was held in February 2025.

Adeniyi reiterated that AEO is a new direction of trade facilitation in the country, stressing that the theme of the event captures the direction of reforms at the NCS, which aim to support legitimate trade, enhance economic competitiveness, and strengthen national security through smarter, more collaborative, and more cooperative approaches.

“A new direction for trade facilitation in Nigeria is what we are talking about as far as this stakeholder’s commitment is concerned.

The theme of the event captures the direction of our reforms at the NCS, which aim to support legitimate trade, enhance economic competitiveness, and strengthen national security through smarter, more collaborative, and more cooperative approaches. For over a decade, the Fast-Track team provided early benefits for compliance importers. However, it had limitations, mainly the absence of an illegal framework and the changing dynamics of the supply chain,” Adeniyi said.

He underscored the urgent need for the Service to migrate to a model that is structured, risk-based, transparent, and globally accepted and recognised.

“That is what led to the design and implementation of the AEO Programme, which is not just a new policy. It is a paradigm shift in the way customs interacts with the private sector,” he said.

The Customs boss added that the programme will bring tangible benefits and have an impact on the economy and the stakeholders.

Adeniyi mentioned that AEO-certified businesses would enjoy a wide range of benefits, “including faster cargo clearance, reduced physical inspections, dedicated service desks at ports and terminals, priority treatment during disruptions or port congestions, improved dispute resolution channels, greater supply chain visibility, and global recognition. But these benefits are not theoretical.”

The CGC maintained that the programme, which was developed in line with the World Customs Organisation’s Safe Framework of Standards, particularly its Customs to Business Partnership, the AEO programme promotes a modern system of risk management, facilitation, and compliance.

The objective is simple: to identify and reward businesses that demonstrate consistent compliance with customs and tax regulations by granting them faster, more predictable, and more efficient clearance processes.

He reiterated that the reform not only supports trade facilitation but also helps Nigeria meet its obligation under the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement, “making our trade ecosystem more competitive and business-friendly.”

In her presentation, Susan Adamrufan, a Chief Superintended of Customs with the Post Clearance Audit Unit of the Service, stated that while the primary objective of fast track is trade facilitation and simplification of trade processes for faster clearance, cutting down on delays, and then reducing cost of business because inspections were not done at the ports, at the terminals, inspections are done at the premises of the trader, thereby cutting down on delays and then reducing cost of business, “the AEO has the benefit of trade facilitation, but also an additional benefit of guaranteeing that there is security in the whole supply chain from end to end, from the time of procuring a particular product, from the time of sourcing, to the time of procurement, to the time of warehousing, to the time of transportation, to the final delivery to the customer. This programme ensures that security is guaranteed in the supply chain.”

Meanwhile, the Director-General of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Dr Segun Ajayi-Kadir, said that though Fast Track had its challenges, it helped the growth of MAN.

Ajayi-Kadir, who was represented at the event by the Executive of MAN, Mr Ope Sunday, while admitting that the migration is good, urged the Service to tackle the challenges with Fast Track with AEO.

“No doubt, fast track has its limitations. But looking at the overall judgement, we can attest to the fact that, of a truth, Fast Track fast tracks the growth of manufacturing in Nigeria. Because actually, through Fast Track, the usual delays in clearing most of our raw materials were limited to an extent. And today, what we would like to say is that transition is good for us. Let’s look into the limitations that Fast Track has as we are transiting to AEO,” he said.