Compt. Kanu Strengthens Ties With Stakeholders, Seeks Strategic Synergy for National Development
By Titus Omajali
As part of her familiarisation and stakeholder engagement tour following her assumption of duty, the Customs Area Controller, Edo/Delta Command, Comptroller Judith Kanu, has embarked on a series of strategic visits aimed at deepening collaboration with traditional institutions, security agencies, and the business community. The visits, carried out between May and June 2025, are anchored on the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) mandate of revenue generation, trade facilitation, and national security.
In a press statement signed on Friday 13 June, 2025 by the command’s public relations officer, Assistant Supritentent of Customs II Peters Josu, stated that on 15th May 2025, the Customs Area Controller (CAC) paid a working visit to the Sapele outstation of the command, where she met with depot and site managers of several major energy and logistics companies, including Life Flour Mills, Bob & Sils, Ebenco Global Link, Cybernetics Services Ltd, Nepal Oil & Gas, Fradros Energy, Matrix, Prudent Oil, AYM Shafa, and the Warri Refinery and Petrochemical Company. She stressed the need to monitor terminal operations, foster compliance, and align with the CGC’s consolidation, collaboration, and innovation mandate to boost revenue through trade facilitation. Terminal representatives pledged cooperation and reaffirmed their commitment to supporting Customs’ objectives.
According to Josu, between 13th and 20th May 2025, Comptroller Kanu toured key stakeholders across Edo and Delta States. She began with the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) at Delta Port, where she described the engagement as a vital step toward strengthening synergy among terminal operators, shipping lines, security agencies, and host communities. Managing Director of the Port, Saadu Mohammed, acknowledged the NPA’s role as a revenue-generating agency and spoke about recent efforts to dredge the Escravos Terminal to enhance port activities.
The Customs Area Controller also visited Julius Berger Terminal and Ocean & Cargo Terminal, where operators pledged compliance with Customs regulations but called attention to infrastructural challenges, especially the condition of the breakwater. The day’s visit ended with her inspection of a government warehouse within the port premises.
He also stated that on 22nd May 2025, Comptroller Kanu visited AHL Energy Free Trade Zone (FTZ) in Kwale, Delta State. She was received by the management team led by Head of Operations, Nitin Shah, who outlined the company’s activities in Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). The FTZ, operated in collaboration with the Nigerian Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), has significantly contributed to local employment and economic development. The Zonal Administrator, John Onwu, requested stronger Customs collaboration to attract more investments and sustain growth. In her response, the CAC described AHL Energy as a key partner and assured of her support in aligning with the CGC’s vision of improved collaboration, innovation, and revenue generation. She was later taken on a tour of the company’s facilities.
On 29th May 2025, the Customs boss paid a courtesy visit to the Edo State Commissioner of Police, CP Monday Agbonika, in Benin City. The visit focused on inter-agency cooperation. Comptroller Kanu called for renewed synergy between the NCS and Nigeria Police to support President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, especially in matters of national security. The Commissioner welcomed the gesture and pledged continued collaboration between the two services.
In the same vein, on 3rd June 2025, the Customs Area Controller visited Commander Abdullahi Suberu of Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Delta in Warri. She reiterated the importance of collaborative maritime security efforts to tackle oil bunkering, arms trafficking, and other transnational crimes prevalent in the Niger Delta region. She proposed inter-agency training, joint maritime surveillance, and coordinated field operations to ensure illegal consignments are intercepted. Commander Suberu praised the Customs Service’s initiative and affirmed that unified national security efforts must continue for sustained peace and economic stability.
In continuation of her engagements, on 5th June 2025, Comptroller Kanu paid a courtesy visit to His Royal Majesty, the Asagba of Asaba, Professor Epiphany Azinge. She acknowledged the critical role of traditional rulers in promoting peace and unity, ingredients she said are crucial for trade facilitation and security. She also called for support in public sensitisation on the dangers of smuggling and the benefits of lawful economic practices.
In his response, the Asagba lauded the NCS’s role in revenue generation and law enforcement, while urging the Service to intensify its fight against small arms proliferation and drug trafficking. He pledged his palace’s support and offered royal blessings to the CAC and her entourage.
Across these engagements, Comptroller Judith Kanu was said to reaffirmed her commitment to stakeholder-driven reforms and the Customs Service’s vision of enhanced collaboration, trade facilitation, innovation, and national development. Stakeholders from traditional institutions, security agencies, and the private sector welcomed her outreach and pledged support for the success of her tenure in Edo/Delta Command.
