Trade Imbalance Hits £1.2bn as Nigeria, UK Seal Customs Cooperation Deal

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

A significant discrepancy of about £1.2 billion in recorded trade figures between Nigeria and the United Kingdom has prompted fresh moves to tighten customs cooperation, as both countries intensify efforts to enhance transparency, digital border management, and trade facilitation. Against this backdrop, Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) strengthened bilateral engagement to reconcile the disparities and improve efficiency along the Nigeria–UK trade corridor.

The renewed collaboration followed a high-level meeting held in London on March 18, under the Nigeria–United Kingdom Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership (ETIP), on the side-lines of President Bola Tinubu’s state visit to the United Kingdom.

Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, led the Nigerian delegation, while the UK team was headed by Megan Shaw, Head of International Customs and Border Engagement at HMRC.

In a statement issued Monday in Abuja and made available to THISDAY, National Public Relations Officer of NCS, Dr. Abdullahi Maiwada, said discussions focused on addressing structural gaps in trade data, advancing customs modernisation and strengthening operational cooperation between the two administrations.

NCS said both parties acknowledged that discrepancies in bilateral trade statistics represented a systemic challenge requiring coordinated institutional response, particularly in an era of increasingly digitised global trade.

The statement read, “Available statistics indicate that while approximately £504 million in UK-origin goods were recorded as imports into Nigeria in 2024, the United Kingdom reported exports to Nigeria valued at approximately £1.7 billion for the same period.”

NCS said the development highlighted a gap that had raised concerns over data integrity, compliance monitoring, and revenue assurance.

To tackle the anomaly, Nigeria and the UK agreed to explore the establishment of a structured pre-arrival data exchange framework between their digital customs platforms.

The initiative is expected to enhance risk management processes, improve reconciliation of trade data, and strengthen compliance monitoring mechanisms.

Adeniyi emphasised that effective customs cooperation remained central to economic growth and sustainable trade development, stating that both countries share a long-standing economic relationship spanning industrial goods, agriculture, energy and consumer products.

He stressed that customs authorities played a frontline role in ensuring that cross-border trade flows were transparent, secure and mutually beneficial, adding that bridging data gaps is essential to boosting investor confidence and safeguarding government revenues.

The meeting also provided a platform for both sides to showcase their respective customs modernisation programmes.

The UK delegation highlighted advancements in artificial intelligence-driven trade tools, digital verification systems and real-time analytics, which were being deployed to improve border efficiency and detect irregularities in trade flows.

The innovations, officials said, presented opportunities for knowledge transfer and technical collaboration that could support Nigeria’s ongoing customs reforms.

The engagement produced key outcomes, including plans to develop a Customs Mutual Administrative Assistance Framework, commence technical scoping for capacity-building initiatives, and establish a joint technical engagement mechanism under the ETIP framework.

Experts believed the initiative could mark a turning point in Nigeria’s efforts to plug revenue leakages, curb trade misinvoicing, and improve the accuracy of trade statistics, which were critical for economic planning and fiscal policy.

The widening gap between Nigeria’s recorded imports and the UK’s export figures had often been attributed to factors, such as under-declaration, valuation discrepancies, informal trade channels, and differences in reporting methodologies.

By deploying integrated digital systems and improving data-sharing protocols, both countries aim to create a more transparent and accountable trade environment.

NCS reiterated its commitment to deepening international partnerships as part of its broader modernisation agenda, stating that enhanced cooperation with global counterparts remains vital to achieving efficiency, competitiveness and integrity in Nigeria’s trading system.

It added that insights from the engagement would strengthen operational capacity, improve service delivery and support Nigeria’s wider economic reform objectives under the federal government’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

With bilateral trade between Nigeria and the UK continuing to expand, stakeholders believed resolving the data discrepancies and embracing digital customs solutions will not only boost revenue collection but also position Nigeria more competitively in the global trading system.