The Head of Research at Sea Empowerment and Research Center (SEREC), Dr. Eugene I. Nweke, has fired a sharp warning that Nigeria’s historic chairmanship of the World Customs Organization (WCO) is “no trophy to decorate the shelf”,but a hard lever to force economic transformation.
Speaking at the League of Maritime Editors (LOME) one-day seminar in Lagos, Nweke who was represented by Francis Aneze-Chukwu said the country’s new global customs power will count for nothing if government fails to crush inefficiencies, enforce reforms and strengthen laws to protect trade.
Addressing the packed hall in Lagos, Nweke declared that Nigeria’s July 1, 2025 assumption of the WCO Council chair—an institution representing over 180 customs administrations and 98 percent of world trade—places the nation under an unforgiving global spotlight.
“This position is not for celebration alone; it is power to influence customs standards and champion Africa’s trade future. Leadership without domestic discipline is hollow,” he said.
He warned that despite Customs generating ₦1.3 trillion in the first quarter of 2025, port congestion and inefficiencies continue to drain an estimated $4 billion annually. Nweke outlined six key reforms under Comptroller-General of Customs Bashir Adewale Adeniyi—Time Release Studies, data-driven inspections, advance ruling applications, the Authorized Economic Operator programme, the B’Odogwu single-window migration, and rapid cargo scanners—as the springboard to leverage Nigeria’s WCO status, but cautioned that infrastructure decay, policy flip-flops and entrenched bureaucracy could erode the gains.
Turning his focus to the media, he charged maritime journalists to “educate, interrogate and shape narratives” rather than indulge in “undue praises that make us a collective ridicule,” urging them to become professors of the maritime space and watchdogs of reform.
In a reinforcing presentation, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), Dr. Akutah Pius Ukeyima, who was also represented by Mrs Magareth Ogbonna, Director Regulatory Services department insisted that Nigeria’s international leadership must be matched by “strong, clear and enforceable laws” to regulate ports and protect shippers.
He called for the urgent passage of the Nigerian Port Economic Regulatory Agency Bill to give the NSC a statutory mandate to curb monopolies, enforce competition and end opaque concession renewals. “The world is watching Nigeria, and credibility abroad will only be matched by credibility at home,” he warned.
Adding a strategic insider’s perspective, former General Manager of Public Affairs at the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Capt. Iheanacho Ebubeogwu, reminded the gathering that the Nigeria Customs Service remains the frontline enforcer of border laws and the first symbol of government authority at every port. “For us who are professionals, the rest of you can look at the signboards and say NPA ports, but we insiders know it is first a customs area. That is where customs enforce all border fiscal regulations, demonstrate trade facilitation, and show that they can attract foreign investment,” he said.
While congratulating the Comptroller-General on his global appointment, Ebubeogwu warned that the WCO Council is a “salad of interests—country interests, regional interests, diplomacy and politics,” and urged stakeholders to rally behind Adeniyi to protect Nigeria’s and Africa’s stake in the organization. He called on the maritime press to “manage his image and talk up his reputation” so that Nigeria’s tenure at the WCO strengthens the nation’s profile rather than diminishes it.
Earlier in her welcome address, President of the League of Maritime Editors, Ms Remi Itie, described Adeniyi’s election as “a historic moment for Nigeria” and a clear signal of the country’s growing influence in global customs affairs.
She noted that as WCO chair, Adeniyi now provides strategic leadership to the global customs agenda on trade facilitation, revenue optimization, security, and digital transformation. But she challenged participants to go beyond celebration and interrogate how this elevation will “boost the nation’s growth index and possibly change the narrative concerning Nigeria’s trade and image abroad.”
Calling on government to harness the country’s maritime potential to create jobs for Nigeria’s vast youth population, Itie urged coastal states to look beyond federal allocations and invest in maritime opportunities such as seafaring, fishing, agro-tourism and coastal security.
“We cannot run away from global trade,” she said. “Nigeria has the natural resources to create more jobs through the nation’s maritime potentials.”
The speakers and stakeholders agreed that Nigeria’s WCO chairmanship offers a rare chance to align with global best practices on customs governance and trade facilitation. But they stressed that prestige alone will not cut cargo dwell times that still average 20–25 days—among the worst in West Africa—nor end the corruption and inefficiency that cost traders billions. “Let Customs deliver, let industry comply, and let the press profess,” Nweke charged.
They agreed that Nigeria’s WCO chairmanship offers a rare chance to align with global best practices on customs governance and trade facilitation. But they stressed that prestige alone will not cut cargo dwell times that still average 20–25 days—among the worst in West Africa—nor end the corruption and inefficiency that cost traders billions. “Let Customs deliver, let industry comply, and let the press profess,” Nweke charged.
The message from Apapa was unmistakable: Nigeria’s new global customs power is a weapon. Without decisive reforms, strong laws and relentless enforcement, it will remain an unused sword while the nation’s ports continue to bleed revenue and credibility.
