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Nigeria, Cameroon Launch Joint Push To Ease Trade At Mfum-Ekok Border
By Prince Benson Davies
The Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, and the Cameroon Customs Administration have commenced a joint assessment of the Ekok-Mfum One-Stop Border Post, OSBP, in a bid to remove bottlenecks, enhance security, and boost trade between both countries.
The exercise was held on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, under the theme “Leveraging the Nigeria Customs Service Trade Modernisation Project to Advance Seamless Cross-Border Trade and Shared Prosperity.” Participants included customs chiefs, technical teams, security agencies, development partners and community leaders from both sides.
The Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, said the initiative builds on the existing relationship between both administrations. He noted that despite their proximity, border crossing and trade procedures remain unnecessarily difficult.
“We are not building from nothing. We are taking something that works between the two of us and asking whether it can be made to work for the region and hopefully for our continent,” Adeniyi said.
He acknowledged support from the African Development Bank, ECOWAS, ECCAS, Afreximbank and the AfCFTA Secretariat for the project.
Adeniyi disclosed that delegations from both countries recently undertook a study tour of the Beitbridge Border Post between South Africa and Zimbabwe to understudy best practices. He added that technical teams are finalising a joint operational agreement expected to be signed at the forthcoming C-PACT conference.
The Director General of Cameroon Customs, Fongod Nuvaga, described the assessment as the first practical step toward unified border operations. He called for real-time data exchange and joint risk management so that goods and travelers are processed once instead of facing duplicate checks on both sides.
The event also marked the launch of the Mfum-Ekok Border Modernisation Initiative. The project, driven by trade technology experts, will focus on digitising customs processes, upgrading physical infrastructure, and creating new economic opportunities in line with the African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA.
Stakeholders said the modernisation of Mfum-Ekok is expected to reduce delays, lower trade costs, and serve as a model for other border posts in the region.
