The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), on Wednesday, started sensitisation of stakeholders forward of the January 2026 full migration from the present Quick Observe Scheme to the globally recognised Authorised Financial Operators (AEO) Programme.
The migration, in keeping with the NCS, is a part of a broader reform agenda geared toward enhancing commerce facilitation and strengthening provide chain safety.
Addressing stakeholders, together with importers, clearing brokers and members of the organised personal sector on the occasion held in Lagos, the comptroller basic of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, acknowledged that the AEO programmer represented a paradigm shift in the way in which the Customs work together with the personal sector.
Represented by the zonal coordinator answerable for Zone ‘A’, assistant comptroller basic (ACG) Charles Orbih, Adeniyi highlighted that whereas the Quick Observe Scheme served its objective for over a decade, it lacked a proper authorized framework and was not aligned with the dynamic nature of the worldwide provide chain.
The AEO programme, he defined, is a extra structured, risk-based, and clear mannequin developed in step with the World Customs Organisation’s SAFE Framework of Requirements.
He stated advantages for licensed companies embrace sooner clearance, lowered bodily inspections, devoted service desks, and precedence remedy throughout port congestion, all of which contribute to value discount and improved provide chain effectivity.
Adeniyi stated a current Time Launch Research (TRS) revealed that AEO-certified companies already take pleasure in a big discount in cargo clearance time, averaging 43 hours in comparison with non-AEO merchants.
“The AEO programme was first piloted in Nigeria on fifteenth April 2024, and following thorough testing, capability constructing, and stakeholder consultations, the nationwide launch was held on 14th February 2025.
The target is to establish and reward companies that display constant compliance with Customs and tax rules by granting them sooner, extra predictable, and extra environment friendly clearance processes.
“AEO-certified companies take pleasure in a variety of advantages, together with sooner cargo clearance and launch, lowered bodily inspections, devoted service desks at ports and terminals, precedence remedy throughout disruptions or port congestion, improved dispute decision channels, higher provide chain visibility and world recognition.
“This reform not solely helps commerce facilitation however helps Nigeria meet its obligations underneath the WTO Commerce Facilitation Settlement, making our commerce ecosystem extra aggressive and business-friendly,” he stated.
Talking on the Put up Clearance Audit ( PCA) reforms, Adeniyi stated the unit had been restructured with a devoted Assistant Comptroller-Normal to make sure strong audit-based controls with out disrupting legit commerce, thereby reinforcing the AEO framework.
Talking earlier, the assistant comptroller basic of Customs answerable for the PCA unit, Zanda Chiroma, famous that the Quick Observe scheme could be formally decommissioned on December 31, 2025, and urged all present beneficiaries to submit new AEO purposes by means of the official portal aeo.nigeriatradehub.gov.ng.
Chiroma assured stakeholders of a clean and credible transition course of, with clear operational pointers and a skilled staff of validators in place.
“This migration is happening throughout the broader framework of NCS reform—one that’s anchored on transparency, effectivity, and evidence-based compliance administration. Central to this reform is the transformation of the Put up Clearance Audit (PCA) regime.
“In recognition of the important position PCA performs in Customs modernisation, the PCA Unit was formally moved from the Tariff and Commerce Division to the Workplace of the Comptroller-Normal of Customs with impact from 19 December 2024. This strategic realignment underscores the high-level precedence now accorded to PCA as a core compliance and income assurance operate, ” he stated.
The director basic of the Producers Affiliation of Nigeria (MAN), Segun Kadir, represented by secretary AEO’s Suon Opeh, nevertheless, raised considerations in regards to the AEO program’s utility course of.
He famous that the situations for enlistment are presently tedious and troublesome, which has resulted in a restricted variety of corporations being onboarded.
He appealed to the Customs administration to simplify the method and steadily admit corporations, expressing fears {that a} troublesome transition might hinder enterprise for producers.
Kadir additionally referred to as on the Customs to deal with the difficulty of different safety businesses, significantly the police, interfering with consignments, a problem he stated plagued the Quick Observe scheme.
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