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President Jonathan tasks Customs on Nigeria’s borders
Nov 26, 2012, 17:08
| | President Goodluck Jonathan has tasked the Nigerian Customs Services to continuously evolve ways and means through which Nigeria’s borders would connect her to the economic benefits of global trade and enhanced security.
The President made this charge at the 2012 Comptroller General’s Annual Conference holding in Katsina, on Monday, November 26.
President Goodluck Jonathan, who was represented by Vice President Namadi Sambo, stated that the conference, with the theme “Borders Divide, Customs Unite” was appropriate considering the global trend of globalization and regional integration and emphasised the need for regular interactions across diverse borders as a path to collective peace and national prosperity.
“With globalization and regional integration transforming the world economy, the path to our collective peace and national prosperity is regular interactions across diverse borders”, said the President
While commending the Nigerian Customs Service for its role as the primary enforcer of trade policy and the nation’s gatekeeper, the President however called on the organisation to boost its existing collaboration with other customs services across the world for exchange of accurate and vital information to secure her international boundaries from high-risk shipments.
Furthermore, President Goodluck Jonathan expressed government’s firm commitment to increasing the nation’s revenue in the non-oil sector in which the organisation has a vital role to play in supporting her to achieve this goal.
Also, President Goodluck Jonathan expressed his appreciation of the organisation’s efforts in combating the proliferation of arms and light weapons and promised government’s support in checkmating the act.
The President, who stated that he had served in the Nigerian Customs Services in his early years, lauded the ongoing reforms in the organisation and called on the personnel to justify government’s support by making it a strong, robust and outstanding earner of non-oil revenue.
Earlier in his speech, the Comptroller General of Customs Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko Inde expressed his appreciation for the administration’s continued support to the organisation. He stated that in the 2012 the organization would assume all functions of the service providers contracted by government which was a bold decision and a demonstration of the president’s leadership capabilities.
Furthermore, the Comptroller General stated that under his leadership the organisation’s revenue generation of the organisation has increased tremendously and that the organisation is on-course in its modernization agenda with the development of an indigenous-based data cargo clearance Nigeria Integrated Customs Information System (NICIS) which has enhanced the organisation’s service delivery.
Moreover, Dikko Inde stated that the Organisation’s relationship with the international community is quite commendable which was demonstrated by the World Customs Organisation renewal of its
Vice-Chair for West and Central Africa and its accreditation of the Nigerian Customs Command and Staff College Gwagwalada as the regional training centre for these sub-regions.
The Comptroller-General however called on the review of enabling legislation to support the on-going modernization and reforms in the service to brace up for the present day realities and challenges.
“The current level of the Customization requires an enabling legislation pin line with present day realities and challenges. It is in this regard that we acknowledge the efforts of the members of the National Assembly to review the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) CAP 45 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004. We salute them for their vision and courage and appeal to all stakeholders to understand and support the current efforts of the Management to leave behind for posterity an enduring legacy”, said the Comptroller-General.
© Copyright 2012 nigeriafirst.org
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