Customs New Trade Strategy Boosts Economy

A consultant to the Nigeria Customs Service, Valentina Minta, said last Sunday in Lagos that the New Nigeria Trade Hub portal introduced by the service would boost the country’s economy.

Minta said that the portal would enable Nigeria to attract new Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) in the maritime industry.

“The Nigeria trade hub which is www.nig-eriatradehub.gov.ng brings together all the information that the traders would need; to news items, legal documents, procedures, the name of the agency, the phone numbers, the contact details and exchange rates,’’ she said.

“This new platform is basically 24/7 online. You don’t have to register for it, it’s available to everyone.

“So the traders can key in at anytime from the smart phone, from the mobile phone, from his office without having to go through hold-up to find people who can tell him what he needs to know.

“It’s there at his fingertips.’’

Minta also said that the portal also provided classification tools, adding that the level of compliance would be higher.

She said that the traders would be given all the information needed for shipping, stressing that the establishment of the new portal showed that government expected business inflow and supported the trading community in attracting new foreign investments.