Author: Muhammad Bashir.

The Nigeria Customs Service has reaffirmed its commitment to streamlining processes that will facilitate President Bola Tinubu’s food security initiative.

The Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC), Adewale Adeniyi, made this known on Tuesday, 13 August 2024, at Nigeria Customs Service Headquarters in Abuja, during an official launch of a book, “Impactful Public Relations in Customs Management.” The book, authored by Image Merchants Promotion Limited, highlights the CGC’s progressive public relations strategies.

According to the CGC, the aim is to ensure the swift importation of food items, adhering to standards that reduce costs and lower consumer prices.

The book launch coincided with the 2nd Economic Confidential Annual Lecture, where the Comptroller-General further stressed the strong commitment of the Customs Service to addressing food security challenges through targeted measures to intensify agricultural production. “In line with our earlier highlighted vast agricultural potential, the government is actively providing incentives to farmers to increase food production, among other measures,” he said.

Adeniyi says, “There’s an ambitious target to cultivate more than 10 million hectares of land for food production. This initiative not only aims to boost our food security but also to leverage our abundant arable land, only 40% of which is currently cultivated.”

The CGC Adeniyi also noted that the Federal Government has taken bold steps to address the immediate challenge of high food prices by removing tariffs and other import duties on key staples such as rice, wheat, maize, and sorghum for six months.

Adeniyi, who underscored the vital role of Customs as the gatekeeper of Nigeria’s international trade, also emphasised the need to streamline processes to secure the nation’s food supply and support agricultural production.

He further stated, “Let me reiterate a known fact about our vast agricultural potential: Nigeria boasts 84 million hectares of arable land, of which only 40% is currently cultivated, according to the 2017 Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) report on ‘Boosting Agricultural Productivity in Nigeria.’ This presents an enormous opportunity for agricultural expansion.”

The CGC also expressed heartfelt appreciation to Image Merchants Promotion Limited for their dedication to publishing the book, recognising it as a valuable contribution to advancing public relations within the Nigeria Customs Service.

Earlier, Tope Fasua, the Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Economy in the Office of the Vice President, who represented Vice President Kashim Shettima and served as Chairman of the occasion, addressed the gathering on the theme “Leveraging Effective Communication for Revenue Generation and Economic Development.”

The Vice President applauded Image Merchants Promotion Limited, the publishers of Economic Confidential magazine and other publications, for their consistency in research and investigative journalism over the decades.

He said, “The theme for today’s engagement is indeed timely and highly relevant. Leveraging effective communication for revenue generation and economic development is crucial for achieving the purposes of governance, which is economic and social development for people’s well-being.”

The Vice President also commended the Nigeria Customs Service for its role in safeguarding the nation’s borders and boosting the economy, noting, “We all know how important the contributions of the Nigeria Customs Service are as a regulator and facilitator of international trade—and how it adds value to the country through public relations management.”

On his part, Yushau Shauib, the Chief Executive Officer of Image Merchants Promotion Limited, expressed deep appreciation for CGC Adeniyi’s exceptional ability to engage and respect members of the fourth estate of the realm.

Shauib also praised Adeniyi for his unique ability to maintain strong relations with the media while upholding his responsibilities as the Comptroller-General of Customs.

He further explained the rationale behind publishing the book, noting that it is a tribute to Adeniyi’s transformative leadership and commitment to transparent and effective public relations within the Customs Service.

The book launch was attended by distinguished guests, including members of the NCS Management Team, key public relations stakeholders, and industry experts who shared insights on the importance of effective communication in public service.

Author: Abra Iruoghene.

The Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC), Adewale Adeniyi, received a customised generator and a bus on behalf of the Service from the Chairman of the Trade Modernization Project (TMP), Saleh Ahmadu, on 5 July 2024, at the Project Management Office domiciled at the
Nigeria Customs Service Management Quarters in Abuja.

CGC Adeniyi expressed appreciation to TMP for the equipment presented to the Service. He said, “On behalf of all officers and men, I appreciate this gesture that TMP has done for us through the presentation of the 250KVA generator and the 13-seater 2024 Toyota Hiace bus.”

Adeniyi disclosed that the Service is aware of TMP’s efforts in providing tools and equipment needed to drive the modernisation program. He said, “We know that computers alone will not work by themselves; they will not effect the desired modernisation that we need.”

He added, “It will require human input, and the working environment of these elements is very important as well as those tools. So, we therefore appreciate these efforts you put in place to help us enhance the working environment and also improve the welfare of these officers.”

Furthermore, he applauded the Trade Modernization Project for being a worthy and dependable partner in their modernisation drive. He noted that the equipment delivered would be put to good use to bring added value to NCS operations.

Additionally, Adeniyi encouraged the officers, from the rank of Assistant Comptroller and Deputy Comptroller, undergoing special training by the TMP in preparation for the management duties of the Service, to be attentive and acquire the necessary knowledge to discharge their responsibilities and take up the task ahead of them professionally.

Mr Saleh Ahmadu, the Chairman of the Trade Modernization Project (TMP), who handed over the equipment, said the bus was for the effective movement of personnel between the headquarters and the TMP office, while the generator was for constant power supply to the management quarters of the NCS. He acknowledged the CG for his continuous support and collaboration.

…Warns Officers Against Being Defaulters 

Author: Lucy Nyambi.

The Comptroller General of Customs (CGC), Adewale Adeniyi, has called on officers to honour their oath of service, particularly in fulfilling their national security mandate.

The CGC, who was on an operational visit at Apapa on Thursday, 04 June 2024, addressed officers of Apapa Area Command on the current security threats in the country. He highlighted the critical role of customs officers in safeguarding the nation’s borders.

Recounting the recent seizure of Arms and military accoutrements at the Lagos Airport and a similar seizure in Onne Port, the CGC emphasised the onerous tasks on officers to address the national security emergency in the country.

He said, “Declarations made by these people who go through our desks are inside our system. What it means is that we have an onerous responsibility to address the national security emergency that we face in Nigeria.”

“The trend has shown that there are desperate networks of support, people who conspire with them,

some of them within the service, some of them outside the service. And we have a responsibility not to allow them to bring that devilish merchandise into Nigeria”, the CGC stressed.

Adeniyi highlighted the importance of adhering to proper procedures in ensuring goods are scanned and physically examined to prevent illegal items from entering the country.

The CGC urged officers to maintain the highest level of integrity, as their actions can be traced.

“We work with a system that has track and trace. What each and all of you do with our system can be tracked. It can be traced. We can attribute them to you in the next seven years or beyond. What you do not do can also be attributed to you, so either way, we can be located and called upon to account for our actions and inactions”, he warned.

“I, therefore, urge you to live to your responsibility; this nation is ours, revenue is important, trade facilitation is important, we are getting it right on those ends, and we must not fail on our mandate of national security. So the responsibility lies with all of us to live up to the oath of service, the oath of allegiance to the Federal Republic of Nigeria”, he emphasised.

He warned that anyone traced or caught on the wrong side of the law would not be spared.