…Olomu dedicates the awards to his officers and men for their dedicated commitment!

Highly cerebral, intelligent and dedicated, the present Customs Area Controller, Apapa Port Customs Command, Dr Babatunde Olomu has re-engineered and reinvigorated the command into a money-baking machine, making his predecessors look flat-footed, as he fetched over N2 trillion for Government, more than one month to the end of the year, 2024.

Personally trained, motivated and inspired by the Comptroller General of Customs CGC, Adewale Adeniyi, the Apapa CAC, Babatunde Olomu, alongside a few others, like Comptroller Dera Nnadi is on the hot, but the patriotic seat of the few, committed to enabling the CGC, prove his mettle. 

Running the Apapa Port Customs Command had always been considered a yeoman’s job until Olomu assumed office. Now, it looks like a hot knife, slicing through cold butter, even as revenue generation, suddenly looks like an experience ‘meruwa’ is fetching water, out of a clement lagoon!

For this reason, the Apapa Port Command of Nigeria Customs Service and its Area Controller were on Friday, November 29, 2024, in Abuja, honoured with three distinguished awards by the Comptroller General, for Revenue Collection and, an Award of Excellence for outstanding feats, at the CGC Award Night.

Consequently, Babatunde Olomu was celebrated by colleagues, friends and stakeholders for standing out, as the Star of the Night. 

He also emerged the “Best Controller of the Year”  for his exceptional leadership and improving on the command’s capacity to deliver on its mandates at Nigeria’s premier port of Apapa

Meticulous, thorough and fastidious, the CGC, Adewale Adeniyi MFR ensured the Awards were keenly contested.

Hence, the three awards when they were being presented, drew accolades, and encomiums and were matched by genuine standing ovations.

The Awards organisers ebulliently recognised the Apapa Command for its various groundbreaking achievements in the areas of revenue collection, anti-smuggling and trade facilitation. 

“No leader can excel, without supportive lieutenants!”

It recognised that for the first time in the history of the Command, it had actually generated over N2tr as revenue into government coffers as of November 20, 2024.

It also acknowledged that the Apapa Command, under the leadership of Comptroller Babatunde Olomu, truly raised the bar of preventing revenue leakages and achieving maximum collection, even in the face of low trade volume.

The marvel therefore was if Olomu, as a thoroughbred and team player could galvanize his officers to make so much, in the face of low trade volume, what would have been the imaginable mind-blowing revenue profile, if it was during the heavy trade volumes of some of his predecessors?

 But then, his predecessors also lacked the kind of unique inspiration and dedicated attention of a CGC, Adewale Adeniyi MFR who leads from the front, provides!

The Awards organisers also frugally noted, Olomu’s hands-on daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly evaluation of the Command’s activities, particularly the fact that the command is now attuned to getting all officers to resume early, process all entries timely, carry out diligent examination and shun compromise in the discharge of their duties!

Humble and unemotional, Babatunde Olomu, shortly after receiving the awards in Abuja, held the plaques and certificates up and dedicated the honours to all officers and men of the command. 

The Area Controller described the achievements as a result of teamwork, dedication, focus and cooperation.

“No leader can excel, without supportive lieutenants”, he declared, calling “for continuous support from all stakeholders as we enter the last month of the year 2024”.

While thanking the CGC for the honour bestowed on the command, Comptroller Olomu said as the number one Customs Officer in Nigeria, the CGC Adeniyi had been a source of inspiration and a good example for all officers to emulate. 

He further described the award as a motivation for selflessness, a call for increased commitment and a challenge to sustain and improve the tempo of work at the command which will cascade to all bonded terminals attached to it.

The Controller also urged all port users to rededicate themselves to national service by being law-abiding and reporting suspected unlawful acts in the port to the service and other security agencies. 

Comptroller Olomu lauded import and export traders who have used Apapa Port within the period of his leadership and implored them to operate in full compliance with the guidelines for their trade. He specifically commented on exporters who pioneered export activities under the Guided Trade Initiative (GTI) of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). 

Olomu urged more Nigerian businessmen and women to take advantage of the ease of doing business initiative to use Apapa Port. He invited them to tap into the simplified procedures being emplaced by the CGC under an evolving modernisation regime to trade seamlessly. 

The CAC admonished officers of the command not to see the awards of The Best Command of the Year, The best Command in Revenue Collection and the Best Customs Area Controller as the end of hard work but as a motivation and challenge to work harder

He reminded them that compliance saves money, saves time, builds integrity for positive profiling and helps in recognition for upgrade to the authorised economic operator (AEO) status

…As Troops neutralise 135, apprehend 185 suspects in 1 week

The Nigerian Navy said it would partner with other security agencies to ensure that Cross River was crime-free before, during and after Yuletide and the annual Calabar Carnival in Cross River.

The  Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Eastern Naval Command, Rear Admiral Saheed Akinwande, said this during the fourth quarter Route March on Saturday in Calabar.

The FOC said security personnel needed to be fit physically and mentally to effectively discharge their duty of securing the nation.

“We all know the importance of physical fitness and personal security, particularly during this festive period.

“As usual, we all need to prepare our minds and be ready for this significant period in the state where visitors come in from across the world to be part of the annual Calabar Carnival.

“Of course, we must bear in mind that while many of these guests would bring positivity, some will come with ill intentions.

“That is why we are putting in place robust security measures on both land and sea to ensure the success of the events and ensure the safety of lives and property during the yuletide,” he said.

He charged security agencies to maintain and sustain the harmonious working relationship that exists among them in the state.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the exercise involved the active participation of officers, ratings, and corps members.

The Nigeria Police, Department of State Security, NDLEA and others participated in the quarterly march.

NAN reposts that personnel from the Federal Road Safety Corps also supported the event by managing traffic flow. 

In another development, the troops of the Nigerian military have eliminated no fewer than 135 terrorists, apprehended 185 suspects and rescued 129 kidnapped hostages through well-executed operations across the country within the last week.

The Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba, made this known in the Defence Headquarters weekly update on the operations of the military on Saturday in Abuja.

Buba said that terrorists in the North Central have begun to surrender to troops.

“These surrenders are occasioned by overtures from the terrorist leadership based on troops onslaught against them,” he said.

He said that a non-kinetic collaborative effort with stakeholders was deployed to encourage the surrendering process.

“Accordingly, several terrorist leaders, commanders and combatants have so far surrendered with more indicating interest to surrender.

“Notable terrorists that have surrendered include; Yellow Jambros, Alhaji Mallam, Ardo Idi (Alhaji Lawal), Lawal Kwalba, Salkado, Yellow Ibrahim, Gana’e and Babangida among others.

“Nevertheless, troops will sustain its operational tempo to destroy or cause further surrendering by terrorists.

“However, during the week under review, troops neutralised 135 and arrested 185 persons.

“Troops also arrested 61 perpetrators of oil theft and rescued 129 kidnapped hostages,” he said.

Buba said the troops also recovered 113 assorted weapons and 2,415 ammunition comprising 72 AK47 rifles, 11 fabricated rifles, 15 dane guns, eight pump action guns, four hand grenades, one RPG bomb and a tube.

Others according to him are, 1,554 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 380 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 203 rounds of 7.62 x 39mm ammo, 129 live cartridges, 28 shotgun cartridges, and 500 54mm empty case of MG ammo.

He added that 30 rounds of 7.62 x ammo, 49 rounds of 5.7mm ammo, 165 live cartridges, 10 rounds of 9mm ammo, 38 magazines, radios, 15 vehicles, 46 motorcycles, and 28 mobile phones were recovered among other items.

Buba said the troops in the Niger Delta area discovered and destroyed 93 crude oil cooking ovens, 12 dugout pits, 37 boats, 127 drums, 41 storage tanks and 82 illegal refining sites.

“Other items recovered include one outboard engine, four speedboats, three HH radios, four motorcycles, five mobile phones and 14 vehicles.

“Troops recovered 909,800 litres of stolen crude oil, 71,060 litres of illegally refined AGO and 13,580 litres of PMS.

“Overall, troops will continue to find innovative solutions in tackling the myriad of security challenges confronting the nation.

“We remain in a winning position in the war,” he added. 

To fulfil its commitment to solidarity and boosting educational standards in Nigeria, the Tincan Island Container Terminal, Apapa, has completed a significant infrastructure upgrade at Randle Secondary School in Apapa, Lagos.

 This initiative aims to create a more engaging and impactful learning environment for students and school staff. 

The initiative includes the renovation of 14 washrooms for staff and students, as well as the modernization of the information and communication technology (ICT) room with the addition of 10 high-tech computers, 2 UPSs, 1 printer, and other essential equipment. These improvements will enable students to learn foundational computer skills that are crucial in today’s digital world.

This solidarity initiative was executed to coincide with a global event (Solidarity Day) organized by Africa Global Logistics, the parent company of TICT, to strengthen ties with local communities. 

“The theme of this year’s Day of Solidarity celebration is ‘Education’. To make an impactful donation, we conducted a first-hand evaluation of different high schools in Apapa.

“We envisioned the significant impact our CSR activity would have on the students and staff of Randle Senior Secondary School through the upgrade of the school’s infrastructure.

 “Students at Randle Secondary School will now have quality exposure to the fundamentals of ICT and the opportunity to develop their computer skills. “, said Etienne Rocher, Country Managing Director of AGL (Tincan Island Container Terminal).

“TICT’s intervention is not limited to education. The company is also committed to improving the school’s waste management system by providing 8 new bins, TICT is helping to maintain a clean and healthy environment, which is essential for the well-being of students”, he adds.

Mr. Akinboyowa Peter, Principal of the school, expressed his gratitude for this initiative, noting the positive impact it has had on the school community. Honourable Tosan Wiltshire, representative of the Apapa Local Government, also praised TICT for its commitment to creating a conducive learning environment and encouraged other businesses to follow suit.

“On behalf of the Chairman of Apapa LG, I would like to thank TICT for the wonderful execution of this project. We want to urge other business organizations to emulate this kind of gesture to make learning interesting for our students at Apapa. We will be committed to helping the school dispose of their waste in a timely and efficient manner so that the learning environment can remain clean and healthy,” said Honourable Tosan Wiltshire, Special Assistant for Public Information to the Chairman of Apapa LGA.

This TICT initiative illustrates how companies can play a key role in community development and improve learning conditions while strengthening their social responsibility.

About Tincan Island Container Terminal

Tincan Island Container Terminal, a leading container terminal, is the operator of Terminal B, Tincan Island Port, Apapa, Lagos, Nigeria. We are now a part of Africa Global Logistics, the leading multimodal logistics operator in Africa. TICT is an organization driven by innovation, intelligence, and commitment to excellence and is open to all stakeholders within the port community, creating platforms for value exchange and opportunity advancements.  

Our ambition through a collaborative approach with our larger port community, is to act and be recognized as a proactive and pioneering change agent, keen and able to positively contribute to Nigeria / Lagos port ecosystem’s efficiency and modernization.