The Customs Area Controller of Oyo/Osun Area Command, Comptroller Gambo Iyere Aliyu, has reaffirmed the Nigeria Customs Service’s (NCS) commitment to promoting value addition and trade diversification in line with the objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
In a press release signed by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Assistant Superintendent of Customs I ,Abdulmalik Abiodun Akintola, Aliyu, made this known while delivering a lecture on the topic “Products that can be Imported or Exported from Nigeria: AfCFTA, Rules of Origin and the Drive for Value Addition” at the Chambers of Commerce on Wednesday, October 22, 2025.
Comptroller Aliyu noted that Nigeria holds a strategic position in global trade due to its vast natural resources and expanding industrial capacity. According to him, the nation’s import and export profile is a reflection of its economic strength and developmental aspirations.
He explained that the Service, under the leadership of Comptroller-General of Customs, Dr. Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, is driving a modernisation agenda aimed at achieving end-to end automation of business processes. This, he said, will enhance transparency, efficiency, and competitiveness in the nation’s trade operations.
Comptroller Aliyu observed that while crude oil and natural gas remain dominant, government diversification policies have expanded the non-oil export base. He listed cocoa, sesame seeds, cashew nuts, ginger, palm oil, rubber, hibiscus flowers, and solid minerals such as limestone, lead, zinc, and tin among the promising export commodities. Additionally, he pointed to processed foods, textiles, and leather goods as sectors with high potential for foreign exchange earnings.
However, he cautioned that certain items remain prohibited for export under Schedule 6 of the Common External Tariff (CET). These include maize, unprocessed rubber latex, raw hides and skins, rough or sawn timber, scrap metals, artifacts, antiquities, and endangered wildlife species or their products.
Speaking on AfCFTA, Aliyu described it as a landmark agreement that seeks to create a single African market for goods and services, granting Nigerian exporters access to over 1.3 billion consumers and a combined GDP of more than $3.4 trillion. He emphasized that to benefit from the trade pact, Nigerian products must meet the Rules of Origin requirement meaning they must be wholly obtained or substantially transformed within the country.
He reiterated the NCS’s dedication to facilitating legitimate trade, safeguarding the national economy, and supporting policies that promote industrial growth and export expansion through value addition.
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