Trade Modernisation Project Bags Leadership Company of the Year 2025 Award

Trade Modernisation Project (TMP) has bagged the Leadership Company of the Year 2025 Award, with Dr. Jummai Umar-Ajijola, Managing Director of TMP, attributing the emergence to sustained Customs reforms and institutional backing of the Comptroller General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi MFR.

Umar-Ajijola spoke on Thursday, 12 February 2026, shortly after TMP was honoured at the 18th edition of the Leadership Annual Conference and Awards, held at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre, Abuja.

She said, “If appreciation must go to whom it is most due, I will begin with the Comptroller General of Customs and his team. They have been worthy partners. Their support for reform and their belief in modernisation made it possible for us to stand here today.”

Umar-Ajijola described the award as validation of Nigeria’s transition from paper-based trade procedures to a fully digital and integrated Customs system.

“This recognition affirms that the reforms we are implementing are not cosmetic. They are structural. We have moved from slow, manual processes to a technology-driven platform that improves efficiency, strengthens transparency and enhances compliance in cross-border trade,” she said.

The MD noted that the progress recorded under the Trade Modernisation Project shows that Nigeria is increasingly aligning with global trade standards.

“We recently returned from the World Customs Organisation conference in Abu Dhabi, and it was encouraging to see that Nigeria’s trade modernisation efforts are being recognised internationally.

“When global leaders speak about the future of trade facilitation, it is reassuring that our work forms part of that global conversation”.

“This is about competitiveness. It is about credibility. It is about positioning Nigeria properly within regional and global trade frameworks. Modern trade administration requires technology, but it also requires leadership and partnership. We have been fortunate to have both,”

Planning ahead, Umar-Ajijola said the organisation would intensify investment in capacity development to sustain momentum.

“Technology does not run itself. People do,” she noted. “We are strengthening our leadership team, promoting capable professionals and empowering young talents who understand the digital ecosystem.

“Young people drive innovation. They bring energy and technological fluency. We are deliberate about embedding youth in our operations because the future of trade is digital. We are prepared for the next phase,” she added.

Explaining the rationale for the award, the Chairman of the Leadership Group, Mrs Zainab Nda Isaiah, said TMP was selected as Company of the Year 2025 for its measurable impact on Nigeria’s trade ecosystem.

“Through advanced technology and effective public-private collaboration, TMP has improved efficiency, enhanced transparency and strengthened compliance in cross-border trade. By aligning with global standards and supporting Nigeria’s participation in regional trade frameworks, the organisation is strengthening the country’s competitiveness in the global economy,” she said.

The award ceremony, themed “Political Stability and Sustainable Development in Africa in an Increasingly Unstable Global System: A Roadmap for Nigeria,” attracted high profile dignitaries, including the First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu; the United Nations Deputy Secretary General, Amina Mohammed; Governors of Zamfara, Imo, Nasarawa and Kaduna States; Senators and other senior public office holders.

Other award recipients included Senator Oluremi Tinubu, honoured as Person of the Year 2025. Governors Hope Uzodinma of Imo, Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa, Biodun Oyebanji of Ekiti, Dauda Lawal of Zamfara, Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta and Uba Sani of Kaduna were recognised as Governors of the Year 2025.

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission received the Government Agency of the Year 2025 award, while the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure was named Environmental Impact Agency of the Year 2025, among other recipients.