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By Steve Agbota
The Regional Trade Facilitation Committee (RTFC) of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has commended the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Adewale Adeniyi, for embracing innovation through the initiation of the Unified Customs Management System, popularly known as B’Odogwu.
During a recent visit to the PTML Command — the pilot site for the B’Odogwu implementation — the Director of Trade at ECOWAS, Kolawole Sofola, praised Adeniyi and the PTML Command for the significant achievements in trade facilitation and revenue collection since the project’s inception.
Leading the RTFC team to better understand the command’s operations and recent NCS activities, Sofola emphasized that Nigeria is making substantial progress through the deployment of modern innovations. He also applauded the NCS for enabling economic growth by facilitating trade and combating smuggling.
“On behalf of the President of the ECOWAS Commission, as well as the Commissioner responsible for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, I congratulate Comptroller Daniyan and his management team for the great work they are doing — not only in generating revenue but also in curbing smuggling and promoting trade facilitation,” Sofola said.
“We came here as a regional trade facilitation committee, representing all ECOWAS member states, and we are very glad to have identified a best practice in Nigeria. Nigeria has evolved with the times — moving from one system to another, now culminating in this current, homegrown system. This command, and the Nigerian Customs Service at large, is doing well in promoting economic growth,” he added.
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Customs Area Controller of the PTML Command, Comptroller Tenny Daniyan, informed the committee that since the Unified Customs Management System (UCMS) B’Odogwu launched in November 2025, the command has collected over N230 billion through the platform as of May 22, 2025.
Comptroller Daniyan revealed that the B’Odogwu project was initially rolled out in a pilot phase at PTML Command. Due to its success, the Nigeria Customs Service expanded the project to 34 commands nationwide. He highlighted that B’Odogwu is unique as a homegrown application developed by NCS officers in collaboration with the Trade Modernization Project (TMP).
The PTML Command Controller also noted that the command now operates a two-hour cargo clearance process, achievable through a compliant RoRo terminal. He added that clearance times are expected to reduce further as operations continue to improve.
Under the guidance and encouragement of the CGC, there has been ongoing sensitization, training, and capacity-building not only for officers but also for all stakeholders, including bankers, terminal operators, and others involved with the project.
Explaining further, Comptroller Daniyan said, “B’Odogwu replaced the Nigeria Integrated Customs Information System (NICIS II) that was previously used. As with any new technology, challenges and glitches are expected, but the uniqueness of this platform is that it is homegrown. We give kudos to our CGC because the spirit and vision he embodies have inspired us to innovate. He is a great innovator and visionary for projects like this.”
Also speaking at the meeting, the B’Odogwu Project Manager, Assistant Comptroller Oyindamola Abass Oladepo, delivered a presentation outlining the history and initiation of the project. He noted that the platform generated N5.6 billion in revenue in a single day.
