Customs Zone C, Zonal Coordinator Visits Onne Customs, Charges On Trade Facilitation, Others

The Zonal Coordinator of Nigeria Customs Service Zone C, Headquarters Port Harcourt Rivers state, Assistant Comptroller General (ACG ) SK Dangladima has charged the officers and Men of Nigeria Customs Port Harcourt Area 11, Command Onne to always ensure that legitimate trade is facilitated.

The charge was made Tuesday in Port Harcourt, the Rivers capital during the ACG's working visit to Onne Customs Command as part of his tour of all the commands in Zone C.

"Let's facilitate legitimate trade" The Zone C, Customs Boss maintained.

ACG Dangladima hinted that the core mandate of the Nigeria Customs service is to collect revenue, facilitate trade and suppress smuggling.

He insisted that Customs officers should ensure that legitimate trade is facilitated while he advised that customs brokers or agents should avoid wrong declaration.

Speaking on the staff training, he noted that going forward; promotion would be based on improvement on staff educational qualification.

“I advise you to go for Junior or Senior courses at Gwagwalada to improve yourself"

"Promotion will be based on merit as Customs is in a new era and for you to be promoted going forward, you must have passed through your junior or Senior courses at Gwagwalada " he posited.

On the movement of containers to bonded terminals, he emphasized that containers on transire should be escorted to their destinations without diversion while insisting that Containers should not be delayed.

His Words: “Containers on transire should be escorted and make sure they reach their destinations. Please don't delay containers. Work together and be your brother's keeper”

While speaking on the inter-agency collaboration, he said that other agencies involved in the examination and release of containers should be handy at all time to avoid unnecessary delays and ensure that containers are released in good time.

He scored the Customs Area Controller, Port Harcourt Area 11, Command Onne, Comptroller, Mohammed Babandede high on revenue generation urging the stakeholders to assist in making sure that Onne achieves its revenue target for the year 2025.

ACG, Dangladima used the opportunity to thank the Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi MFR for his leadership qualities saying his style of leadership has spurred the officers and men of Zone C to a greater achievement especially at Onne.

"You know our Comptroller General of Customs is a thoroughbred Customs officer who knows the customs work in and out having worked with many past Comptroller Generals of Customs. We are truly happy to have him as our CGC. We should emulate his discipline, hard work, dedication and transparency in all that we do " Dangladima admonished.

Earlier in his welcome address,the the Customs Area Controller, Onne, Comptroller Mohammed Babandede has expressed satisfaction for the ACG Dangladima's visit to the command

He noted that such has offered him an opportunity to interact with him and bring to his knowledge some of the challenges facing his command.

He said in the area of revenue generation,his command is doing very well and hopes to achieve its 2025 Revenue Target.

On Trade Facilitation, he said his command has also done well, even as he informed the ACG that mind- blowing seizures have been made at his command and would be made public soon.

Some of the challenges according to him, include ,the newly introduced B'odogwu platform which he said has been having migration issues from Nigeria Integrated Customs Information System (NICIS) to B'odogwu most of the time as a result of Network failure.

The issue of accommodation and operational vehicles were also raised among others.

Responding, the ACG promised to look into the challenges, take them up at the Zonal level for the ones that can be solved here, and also report back to the Comptroller General of Customs the ones that can be handled at the headquarters.

 Goodwill messages were delivered by the representatives of ANLCA and NDLEA .

To the NDLEA, the DC incharge of Narcotics DC James Bada extolled what he described as a good working relationship between his agency and Onne Customs command.

He applauded Comptroller Babandede for his leadership style of inclusiveness especially with other sister agencies.

DC Bada added that such working relationship would continue for the betterment of the two agencies and Nigeria at large.

However, the working visit also took the ACG Dangladima to the Oil and Gas Free Trade Zone Command of the Nigeria Customs Service.

Present at the event, include Comptroller Zonal Administration Bodunde FA, Comptroller CC Dim of Eastern Marine Command, Comptroller BA Balogun, Comptroller FOU Zone C, Owerri, Comptroller MO Omisore of PCA, ANLCA, NAGAFF, APFFLON Bonded terminal Operators, critical stakeholders at the Port among others.

Sent-In by: Bon Peters, from Port Harcourt in Rivers State

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