Adewale Adeniyi, in his capacity as the Acting Comptroller General of Customs, has underlined the Service’s determination to tackle port congestion, recognising it as an area that requires urgent attention.
Adewale Adeniyi, speaking at the Presidential Villa briefing on Tuesday, hammered on the importance of decongesting the ports to create a more user-friendly environment while also playing a significant role in advancing an economic development strategy centered on promoting exports.
Adewale Adeniyi, following discussions with President Bola Tinubu, said that the officers and men of the Customs Service are committed to performing their duties in line with the service’s objectives and the Policy Advisory Document on the Customs (PAC).
‘We had discussions regarding what Customs can bring to the table to actualise the vision of renewed hope for Nigeria, what customers can do in terms of addressing gaps in revenue generation in the customs, our enforcement strategies and most importantly, the issue of promoting port efficiency and competitiveness of our ports.’
‘In terms of specifics, I am sure that we are all very, very familiar with the Presidential Advisory Council. And there is a document which has been made public. Our discussions centers around aligning the vision of customs, the activities of custom in the short, medium and long terms with those noble objectives set out in the PAC documents.’
‘So,we’re talking about making our ports user friendly.’
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‘We’re talking about decongesting the ports, we talked about 48 hours clearance of goods around the ports, export led inward looking economic development strategies. So these are some of the issues that we discussed.’
‘And I pledged commitment of the customs to bring out reforms and to collaborate with other agencies of government to achieve some of those objectives stated in the PAC documents,’ he said.
Adewale Adeniyi noted that the election of Tinubu as the ECOWAS Chairman signifies additional responsibilities for the Nigeria Customs and a heightened level of collaboration among countries in the region.
‘For us in the Nigerian Customs Service, ECOWAS represents a very bold attempt to forge regional integration, cooperation in border security and monetary affairs.’
‘And it is so good to note that my assumption of office coincide with that period when attention will be focused on Nigeria holding the flag of regional integration.’
‘I can also tell you that part of my discussions with Mr President is to actively engage customs administration’s across our borders, particularly the strategic ones that we must work and collaborate with for us to achieve common objectives of border security and regional integration.’
‘In the next one week, or thereabout, I will be paying an official visit to Republic of Benin, to have discussions with the Customs Administration of Benin, and see how we can take forward the issue of collaborations between us, the issue of border security, the issue of importation across the border, and more importantly, how we can deploy technological solutions to very complex border problems,’ he said.
By prioritizing the alleviation of port congestion, there is an aspiration to foster a welcoming atmosphere that not only enhances user experience but also forms a pivotal component of a dynamic economic growth agenda, emphasizing the promotion of exports.