By Nkechi Eze
The Nigeria Customs Service has pledged to throw its full weight behind the South-South Development Commission, describing the new body as a potential catalyst for economic transformation across the region through strategic collaboration with Customs.
Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, made the commitment on Thursday, September 18, 2025, when the Commission’s Managing Director, Usoro Akpabio, led a delegation on a courtesy visit to the Customs House in Maitama, Abuja.
Congratulating Akpabio on her recent appointment, the Customs chief underscored that the 2023 Customs Act had ushered in far-reaching reforms whose success required inclusive dialogue and broad stakeholder involvement. He assured that the Service would keep its doors open for continued conversations with the Commission to ensure shared prosperity.
Adeniyi stressed the urgency of tackling pressing regional challenges, proposing that both institutions reconvene in the near future to mobilise wider stakeholder participation. He further suggested the establishment of a joint working team that would serve as a sounding board for collaboration, particularly in the areas of trade facilitation, border management, and economic integration.
While highlighting Customs’ recent Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative aimed at giving back to host communities through projects in education, healthcare, and infrastructure development, Adeniyi said the programme demonstrated the Service’s deep commitment to inclusive growth and sustainable partnerships.
On her part, Managing Director of the South-South Development Commission, Usoro Akpabio, praised the Customs Service for its ongoing reforms and modernisation drive, describing them as exemplary and integral to the nation’s economic development.
She explained that though barely three weeks old, the Commission had already been saddled with a broad mandate spanning the blue economy, agriculture, human capital development, infrastructure, and utilities across the South-South region.
Akpabio stressed that Customs was pivotal to the Commission’s economic blueprint, given its extensive presence in seaports, oil and gas operations, free trade zones, and border activities. She assured that the Commission would pursue a lasting strategic alliance with the Service that would not only outlive current tenures but also promote transparency, regional growth, and national development.
The meeting, which marked one of the first engagements of the Commission since its inauguration, set the tone for a partnership many observers believe could significantly reshape the South-South’s contribution to Nigeria’s overall economic growth.
