ZAINAB JUNAID
The Nigeria Customs Service Chief, Comptroller General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi has officially unveiled, toured the Bashir Adeniyi Centre for International Trade and Investment at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) in Lagos on Thursday, 24 October 2024.
This significant stride aimed at enhancing the country’s trade and investment landscape, the Centre was launched in collaboration with NIIA.
Speaking during the launch, CGC expressed optimism about the centre’s potential, saying, “The establishment of this Centre comes at an opportune time as Nigeria is repositioning itself in the global trade environment.
“As we continue to advance these initiatives, I envision that this Centre will evolve into a comprehensive national think tank focused on international trade and investment.”
Adeniyi reiterated commitment to enhance trade facilitation among other things while fielding questions from journalist on positive features of the Centre, saying “We have a strong commitment to our mandate of trade facilitation, among other things, so we believe that the centre will be a centre of excellence in building capacity and, most importantly, creating awareness about the necessity of conducting international trade. Trade brings prosperity, and we hope that this centre will foster prosperity through trade.”
In his welcome address, the Director General of NIIA, Professor Eghosa Osaghae, acknowledged that the centre will serve as a finishing school for senior customs officers.
“Today, we are very pleased as an Institute to announce to the world that we now have the Bashir Adeniyi Centre for International Trade and Investment. This centre will serve as a finishing school for senior officers in customs, offering senior executive courses that will be certificated. Because this is the NIIA, we will do this as a global affair, properly immersing the Nigeria Customs Service in the framework of the World Customs Organisation,” he stated.
The event featured a panel discussion with eminent Nigerians, including Donald Duke and Dr Chinyere Almona, examining the challenges and solutions for Nigeria’s economy regarding trade and investment.
