Deployment Of SIGMAT Will Boost Nigeria-Benin Trade
By Asuquo Nuwak
Deployment Of SIGMAT Will Boost Nigeria-Benin Trade
The Ministers of Finance in Nigeria and Republic of Benin, Director-General of Customs Administration, ECOWAS commissioner for Customs and Taxation, Resident Representative of GIZ, Representatives of ECOWAS commission and SIGMAT co-ordination unit, senior officers of Nigeria and Benin Customs Services, Technical Experts, stakeholders and members of the private sector and gentlemen of the press came together to witness the official launch of the SIGMAT connectivity between Nigeria and the Republic of Benin at the historic Seme Krate Joint Border Post.
It was yet another major milestone in the collective pursuit of seamless trade integration and regional economic transformation across West Africa amongst others.
At the event, the CGC narrated the history of Interconnected System for the management of Goods in Transit (SIGMAT) as a flagship initiative of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), aimed at digitalizing and harmonizing customs transit operations across member states, conceived over a decade ago.
In his speech, he said the SIGMAT platform was conceived a decade ago, to improve visibility of goods in transit, combat diversion and fraud along corridors, enhance inter-agency co-ordination, simplify border procedures and reduce delays, facilitate trade, while securing state revenue.
Beyond this, he said the implementation began progressively with pilot deployments in countries such as Burkina Faso, Niger, Cote d`Ivoire, Mali, Ghana and Togo, with the support of ECOWAS commission and German Development Cooperation (GIZ).
CGC went on to say that for Nigeria, SIGMAT reflects the Service strategic ambition to align with regional digital customs standards and drive the modernization of trade corridors.
In his presentation, the CGC took the audience on the journey of the current status of SIGMAT implementation and report that Nigeria Customs Service has completed all technical, operational, and policy prerequisites for SIGMAT deployment.
In highlighting the readiness of the Service, the CGC pointed out that the Service is fully prepared to develop a dedicated SIGMAT application, built by the Service in-house technical team, and the integration of SIGMAT with the Service Unified Customs Management System (B’Odogwu) application.
He took time out to highlight some of the key achievements made so far, which include development of standalone SIGMAT application tailored for Nigeria’s Customs landscape, successful testing of real time transit message exchange between Nigeria and Benin, mapping and harmonization of entry and exit itineraries at the Seme Krate border, establishment of direct connectivity to the ECOWAS eHub ensuring regional interoperability, and strengthened collaboration with the Benin Customs Administration through multiple bilateral technical meetings.
He noted that these milestones achievements does not only reflect Nigeria’s technical capability, but also the Service unwavering commitment to regional integration.
He disclosed that despite successes, the Service must acknowledge certain challenges that have delayed full rollout of deployment of new clearance application of both Nigeria Customs Service and the Benin Customs Administration, delays in technical feedback from the Service partner administration in Benin at a critical stages of implementation, varying levels of automation and ICT maturity across other Nigeria-Benin border posts, which may limit SIGMAT expansion beyond Seme Krate in the short term.
Further breakdown of the challenges include the need for more robust stakeholders sensitization and training, especially among transporters, clearing agents, and border agencies, language barrier, especially during the virtual and physical technical meetings, limited operational awareness among some border communities and transit corridor stakeholders.
In looking for a way forward, he said the Nigeria Customs Service proposes strategies to expand SIGMAT deployment to additional border location, for example, Idioroko, Chikanda and Katsina, with support from ECOWAS and national partners, strengthen bilateral communication mechanisms to ensure timely technical engagement between Nigeria and Benin, collaborate with ECOWAS and GIZ and capacity building programmes for customs officers, private sector actors, and relevant MDAs, establish a Joint SIGMAT Monitoring Taskforce to track system uptime, message flow, procedural compliance, continue engagement with the ECOWAS SIGMAT Steering Committee to share lessons learned and support other member states in the implementation journey.
He took the opportunity to reaffirm Nigeria’s full support for the broader ECOWAS digital trade facilitation agenda which include the expansion of SIGMAT to multimodal corridor, ( seaports, airport’s and inland container deposits), alignment of SIGMAT data with emerging platform such as ECOWAS Regional Trade and Transport Observatory (RTTO), collaboration on cross border digital identity and risk profiling for compliant traders, harmonization of and national legislation to support the legal framework for transit under the SIGMAT regime.
At the end, he said the launch of SIGMAT connectivity between Nigeria and Republic of Benin is more than a technical achievements.
The CGC is quoted as saying: “It is a powerful demonstration of regional solidarity and institutional leadership. Let us harness the momentum of this milestone to transform our trade corridors into engines of prosperity, security and opportunity for the people of West Africa”.
He thanked the ECOWAS commission, the Benin Customs Administration, the GIZ Development Cooperation, and all stakeholders for their continued partnership and support.
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