Apapa Customs, NAGAFF, ANLCA, Strengthen Partnership for Trade Efficiency
By Femi Anamelechi
The Customs Area Controller (CAC), in charge of Apapa Area Command, Comptroller Babatunde Olomu, has deepened the partnership between the command and the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) and the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA).
The strategic visits to the NAGAFF Headquarters and the ANLCA National Secretariat on Tuesday, 1 July 2025, underscored the Nigeria Customs Service’s ongoing drive to foster cooperation under the leadership of the Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC), Adewale Adeniyi.
Comptroller Olomu described the engagements as part of the CGC’s transformation agenda, which aims to modernise customs operations through inclusive stakeholder involvement.
He remarked, “I wish to announce that as a result of collaboration with partners like NAGAFF, we have attained a total collection of N1,378,000,000,000 for the first half of 2025. Let me also thank you very sincerely for supporting the CGC’s transformation agenda”, Olomu announced.
He further praised the association’s capacity-building role through its training arm, the NAGAFF Academy. “NAGAFF Academy speaks of the value this association places on capacity building. You are a strategic organisation that thinks ahead, and we respect you for that.”
He further encouraged the stakeholders to maintain work-life balance and urged them to take advantage of the command’s clinic, which is open to officers and other stakeholders.
In his response, NAGAFF Founder, Boniface Aniebonam, commended the current leadership of Apapa Command for restoring professionalism and integrity.
Aniebonam linked the improved relationship to the significant increase in revenue and smoother cargo inspections, while also calling on freight forwarders to be honest in their declaration. “We no longer get to the level of quarrelling and fighting over the inspection of cargoes. It is a good time for freight forwarding at Apapa port”, Aniebonam said.
NAGAFF President, Tochukwu Ezisi, appreciated the CAC’s visit, noting that such interactions strengthen the industry’s regulatory framework.
The visit also extended to the ANLCA Secretariat, where Comptroller Olomu was warmly received by the association’s leadership.
ANLCA President, Emenike Nwajuba, pledged the association’s continued support for the Command’s initiatives.
One major highlight of the visit was the Comptroller Olomu’s decoration by NAGAFF and ANLCA leaders as a symbolic gesture of goodwill and strengthened partnership.
