The Nigerian Customs Service, NCS, has entered an agreement with its Benin Republic counterpart to enable importers to clear their goods from the port in Cotonou.

This was disclosed by the Acting Comptroller-General of the NCS, Adewale Adeniyi, in Abuja on Tuesday at the end of a two-day working visit by the director-general and senior officials of the customs service of Benin Republic.

Adeniyi said the meeting was aimed at boosting trade relations between Nigeria and the Benin Republic, as well as curbing smuggling.

Answering questions from reporters on the opening of the port, Adeniyi said the customs would ensure that due process is being followed.

“We are building confidence in the system offered by the Republic of Benin, our importers are using their ports and vice-versa,” he said.

“If there are people in the Benin Republic who want to use our ports, we try to build trust in our systems.

“And by virtue of this agreement, what it means is that Nigerian importers willing to use the ports in Cotonou can have their goods cleared in those ports because there would be an opportunity for them to pay duties on goods that are liable for payment of duties.