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From Idu Jude, Abuja
The Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) has described Nigeria’s Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model as a major breakthrough for Africa’s trade future, following the adoption of the country’s Customs Modernisation Project as the template for a $3.1 billion continental customs project.
The ICRC said the development marked a significant shift in Nigeria’s role in Africa, with the country moving from being largely a recipient of foreign solutions to becoming an exporter of home-grown technology and infrastructure expertise.
The Commission’s Director-General, Dr. Jobson Oseodion Ewalefoh, stated this in Abuja on Tuesday while reacting to the signing of a 20-year concession agreement for the AfCFTA Customs Modernisation Project.
The agreement, signed by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat and Bergmans Security Consultants and Supplies Limited, the parent company of Trade Modernisation Project (TMP), will see the customs modernisation solution deployed across about 50 African countries.
The project is expected to support the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area, which seeks to create a single market serving about 1.3 billion people and boost trade among African countries.
According to the ICRC, the continental project adopted Nigeria’s Customs Modernisation Project as its model after the Nigerian solution demonstrated its capacity to improve customs administration through technology.
Ewalefoh recently undertook a monitoring and compliance visit to the Nigerian project, where he assessed the progress of B’Odogwu, the Unified Customs Management System developed through the partnership between the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and TMP.
The system has become a key part of the digital transformation of Nigeria’s Customs operations.
Ewalefoh said the decision to adopt a Nigerian-developed solution for a continental project demonstrated the strength of the country’s PPP framework and the ability of indigenous companies to deliver solutions capable of competing beyond Nigeria.
“Africa is not just adopting a piece of technology. Africa is adopting a Nigerian idea, built by Nigerians, proven on Nigerian soil, and now trusted to carry the trade ambitions of an entire continent,” he said.
“This is what PPPs, properly structured and properly regulated, can deliver.”
He said the project had benefited from strong government commitment, describing it as the first project in Nigeria’s history to be executed as a presidential initiative through a PPP arrangement.
“There was commitment at the highest level. Everybody was there; the project was structured. This is the first project in the history of this country that was executed as a presidential initiative, through a PPP,” Ewalefoh said.
The ICRC boss, who had served as the Commission’s desk officer on the project before becoming Director-General, said the initiative initially faced doubts over its viability and the capacity of its private-sector partners.
“When this project came on board, there were a lot of doubts. We asked ourselves: will this work, can we trust the capacity of the proponent? But today, what we are seeing is amazing,” he said.
Ewalefoh stressed that Nigeria should take pride in the fact that an indigenous company was now providing a solution to other African countries.
“It should be our pride that Nigeria can sell something to the rest of Africa. We are not selling a solution built by a foreign company; we are selling an indigenous Nigerian company to the world. Nigerian engineers and Nigerian talent designed and built this solution from scratch,” he said.
He also praised the relationship between the NCS and TMP, saying the partnership demonstrated how PPPs could combine government oversight with private-sector expertise and capital without undermining public interest.
“There is proper synergy between the grantor and the concessionaire. The result we are seeing today speaks for itself,” he said.
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According to him, resistance to change remains one of the biggest obstacles to implementing reforms in public institutions, rather than a lack of ideas or funding.
“The biggest challenge is not ideas, the biggest challenge is not funding — the biggest challenge is resistance to change,” Ewalefoh said.
“For Nigerian Customs to open up, modernize, and leverage private-sector expertise and capital deserves recognition.”
He commended the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, for his role in driving the digital transformation of the service, particularly the nationwide rollout of B’Odogwu.
The ICRC said the sustained push to deploy the system across Customs commands had contributed to the confidence now being placed in Nigeria’s model at the continental level.
The Commission also identified the Lekki Deep Sea Port as another example of how properly structured PPPs could attract private capital and transform critical infrastructure in Nigeria.
Ewalefoh said the Customs Modernisation Project demonstrated that PPPs could help government deliver infrastructure and services without placing the entire financial burden on public resources.
“Every naira of private investment that goes into infrastructure like this is a naira the government does not have to borrow, while the returns, in revenue and efficiency, still accrue to the country,” he said.
He added that the selection of Bergmans for the AfCFTA project had positioned Nigeria as an exporter of infrastructure solutions and expertise.
“Nigeria is no longer only a market but a supplier of solutions to Africa — the kind of enterprise the $1 trillion agenda is built on,” he said.
The development comes amid the Federal Government’s drive to attract more private investment into infrastructure as part of its ambition to build a $1 trillion economy under the Renewed Hope Development Plan 2026–2030.
The ICRC said the Customs Modernisation Project provided a practical example of how private-sector investment could support that ambition by improving infrastructure, boosting efficiency and strengthening government revenue without relying solely on public borrowing.
The AfCFTA development also follows Ewalefoh’s recent call at the ECOWAS Infrastructure Forum in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, for stronger regional cooperation on PPPs.
He had advocated the creation of a network of national PPP institutions across West Africa to improve technical capacity, promote knowledge sharing and harmonise standards for project appraisal and implementation.
“What we are seeing with AfCFTA today is the regional cooperation I called for in Abidjan taking concrete shape,” Ewalefoh said.
“One country’s well-regulated PPP can become the infrastructure backbone of an entire continent.”
The ICRC further dismissed concerns that PPP arrangements could lead to job losses, pointing to the Customs Modernisation Project as evidence that such partnerships could instead create new opportunities.
It said the project had created additional employment opportunities for Nigerian engineers and other professionals while supporting efforts to improve customs revenue collection.
The Commission said the adoption of Nigeria’s customs technology by AfCFTA represented more than a single project victory, describing it as evidence that indigenous Nigerian businesses can develop, finance and export solutions capable of supporting Africa’s economic integration.
The development is also expected to strengthen Nigeria’s position in the implementation of AfCFTA by providing a locally developed digital platform capable of improving customs processes, facilitating trade and reducing some of the administrative bottlenecks that have historically slowed cross-border commerce across Africa.
