There was wild jubilation across Customs formations nationwide when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu announced the appointment of Mr Wale Adeniyi as the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service in June last year. Wale Adeniyi’s emergence as the new helmsman of the Service ended the infamous eight-year regime of Hameed Ali which will go down in history as the most repressive in the over 100-year history of the Service.

For eight years, Hameed Ali ran the Customs as if it were a military cantonment. Under him, the fear of Hameed Ali was the beginning of wisdom. Management meetings were usually one-sided as most officers were afraid to trade opinions that would elicit his wrath. As one observer disclosed, the Hameed Ali days were the darkest moments in the history of Nigeria Customs as officers and the rank and file worked under perpetual fear.
His high-handedness and arrogance also manifested in his relationship with the National Assembly as well as his supervising Minister of Finance. These and many more unsavoury conducts of Hameed Ali may have prompted the National Assembly, in the dying days of the Buhari Administration, to come up with an amendment to the Customs and Excise Act (CEMA) which now makes it mandatory for only career officers to be appointed as Comptroller General of Customs. On assumption of duty, Wale Adeniyi, himself a former spokesman of the Service, realized he had much to do to change public perception and confidence building between critical stakeholders and officers.

Such engagements took him to the National Security Adviser, the Police, the Army, the Navy, freight forwarders and Customs brokers amongst others. Since he assumed duties, Mr Adeniyi has broken every record or target he met on ground. From revenue generation to suppression of smuggling, he has continued to carry the banner of Mr. President’s Renewed Hope Agenda sky high. As it stands, and with every sense of responsibility, it will be difficult for any head of MDA to surpass the heights so far achieved by CGC Wale Adeniyi within just one year of his emergence as helmsman of the Nigeria Customs Service.
Below are the 12 most Outstanding milestones of Mr Adeniyi since his appointment in June last year
1. Surpassing Revenue Generation Targets
– The NCS, under CGC Adeniyi’s leadership, collected NGN 2.74 trillion in the first half of 2024, exceeding the half-year revenue target by eight per cent and achieving a remarkable 127 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2023.
2. Introduction of Time Release Study
– The WCO Time Release Study is a strategic and internationally recognised tool to measure the actual time taken for the release or clearance of goods, from the time of arrival until the physical delivery of cargo.
3. Intensified Anti-Smuggling Operations
– The NCS made 2,442 seizures in the first half of 2024, with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N25.52 billion, representing a 203 per cent increase compared to the first half of 2023. The Service’s commitment to tackling smuggling operations continues to yield significant results.
4. Significant Increase in Second Quarter Seizures
– In the second quarter of 2024, the NCS made 1,334 seizures with a DPV of N17.56 billion, showing a 121 per cent increase over the first quarter. Top items seized include wildlife, vehicles, arms, rice, pharmaceuticals, and narcotics, with 32 suspects undergoing prosecution.
5. Reinforcement of NCS Automation Procedures
– To simplify and expedite Customs processes, CGC Adeniyi reinforced the NCS automation procedures, reducing manual processes and enhancing the efficiency of Customs clearance operations.
6. Capacity Building Programmes for Officers
– The CGC prioritized officer training and development, implementing capacity-building programmes to equip officers with the necessary skills to handle modern Customs operations that meet international standards.
7. Public-Private Partnerships for Trade Facilitation
– Under the CGC’s leadership, the NCS strengthened its engagement with the private sector through public-private partnerships aimed at improving trade facilitation and enhancing Customs clearance efficiency.
8. Implementation of Real-Time System Auditing
– To address operational challenges and enhance revenue collection, the CGC introduced real-time system auditing and post-clearance audits, ensuring compliance with import guidelines and improving overall efficiency.
9. Introduction of the Authorized Economic Operators (AEO) Scheme
– CGC Adeniyi launched the Authorized Economic Operators (AEO) scheme to improve trade compliance and facilitate quicker customs clearance for trusted traders, a critical step toward international best practices.
10. Introduction of Advance Ruling System (ARS)
– The CGC implemented the Advance Ruling System (ARS), which provides legally binding decisions on classification, valuation, and rules of origin prior to importation, enhancing transparency and predictability for traders.
11. Launch of Operation Whirlwind
– To curb smuggling and improve border security, the CGC launched Operation Whirlwind, a focused anti-smuggling initiative aimed at disrupting illicit trade and securing Nigeria’s borders from economic saboteurs.
12. Strategic Reshuffling of Officers
– In a move to improve operational efficiency, CGC Adeniyi conducted a strategic reshuffling of officers at key positions, ensuring the deployment of skilled personnel to critical areas to enhance NCS performance.
These milestones highlight the CGC’s commitment to revenue generation, trade facilitation, anti-smuggling efforts, and modernization of customs operations for national economic growth and security.

_ASU BEKS

_SHIPPING WORLD NEWS MAGAZINE

… Comptroller Nnadi says: “We are more than committed to delivering on mandate”

Tin Can Island Port Customs Area Command Controller CAC, Dera Nnadi has unveiled three seizures, comprising 684 packets of Cannabis Indica, weighing 341.025kg with a street value of N682,050,000. 

Comptroller Nnadi who identified the container marks as MSMU 518030/2 (1X40FT); MSMU 602957/0 (1X40FT) and Container Number FSCU 927461/3 (1X40FT), also highlighted a promise to uncover several other similar containers, with illicit contents in the coming weeks.

“In the coming weeks, it is our hope and desire to hand over several other containers of similar nature after consultations with Customs Headquarters”, Comptroller Nnadi revealed, even as stakeholders wondered what audacious impunity lured the importers to the Tin Can Customs Command, knowing full well, that it is Dera Nnadi’s enclave.

“The Command having received actionable intelligence on the suspected importation of illicit dangerous drugs from one of the source countries, intercepted the three containers which we are showcasing today.

“The drugs extracted from the containers are being handed over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) TCIP, in furtherance of existing interagency collaboration and the MOU signed between the NDLEA and NCS”, the CAC stated, while providing details.

“The details of each subject container are as follows: CONTAINER NUMBER MSMU 518030/2 (1X40FT)

“A joint 100% physical examination was conducted on 2 Aug 2024 and the examination revealed 77 packets of Cannabis Indica weighing 38.5kg.

“Investigation by the Command and our partner agency the NDLEA is ongoing and the NDLEA will update you on the interdiction, arrest and prosecution”

“At the time of processing the intelligence, system profiling indicated that a declaration was made on an SGD Number withheld on 30-07-2024, listing three (3) used vehicles: 

“CONTAINER NUMBER MSMU 602957/0 (1X40FT): A joint 100% physical examination was conducted on 8 Aug 2024 and the examination revealed 532 packets of Cannabis Indica weighing 265.025kg.

“At the time of processing the intelligence, no declaration had been entered. The shipping company concerning the consignment is MSC.

“CONTAINER NUMBER FSCU 927461/3 (1X40FT): A joint 100% physical examination was conducted on 8 Aug 2024 and the examination revealed 75 packets of Cannabis Indica weighing 37.5kg. 

“At the time of processing the intelligence, no declaration had been entered. The shipping company concerning the consignment is MSC.

“Investigation by the Command and our partner agency the NDLEA is ongoing and the NDLEA will update you on the interdiction, arrest and prosecution”, Comptroller Nnadi indicated further, stressing that as a result of the synergy between the NDLEA and the NCS, the Command was handing over the contents of the three containers, totalling 684 packets of Cannabis Indica, and weighing 341.025kg, with a street value of N682, 050,000.00.

He assured that the Command and indeed the Service would deploy all necessary resources and strategies at its disposal and in collaboration with other security and regulatory agencies check the menace of illegal importation of illicit and dangerous substances.

“We are more than committed to deliver on this mandate”, he pointed out, while appreciating stakeholders’ partnership and synergy with the Customs Service, to ensure and sustain the protection of the Nigerian society.

…Encourages free flow of questions to create opportunities for further enlightenment 

The Tin Can Island Ports Customs Command has assured of its commitment to efficient trade facilitation and the prioritisation of the well-being of stakeholders who do business within the Command’s jurisdiction.

The Customs Area Controller, Compt Dera A. Nnadi stated this, on Monday while having a business chat with stakeholders at the command.

The chat was largely on new modalities of what is expected of stakeholders who do business in the Command daily.

Emphasising his theme for the year 2024, which is “A Year For Stakeholders,” the CAC stated that the well-being of all who come to do business in the area command is a priority to him, the command and the service. 

Dera stressed that the year is at its last quarter, and appreciated all efforts so far put in to ensure that the revenue for the year is achieved and called for compliance as all hands must be on deck to make it happen.

The Area Controller said he understands the struggles stakeholders go through during the ember season, especially towards the end of the year, assuring that genuine declarations from compliant traders will not have issues of delay except for those who think they can circumvent the system; who should have themselves to blame as cutting of corners will not be negotiated.

He further stated that he had ensured that all new crested bonded terminals domiciled in TCIP have space available for stakeholders while they go about their businesses, but at the headquarters here, no such space has been created.

 He thereafter promised that he would look critically into it as renovations are ongoing on the premises. 

He advised the stakeholders to learn to keep the environment clean, pending when new bins will be distributed in designated areas, as a clean environment portrays a healthy lifestyle. 

The CAC gave room for questions, which he answered while promising that all issues raised would be looked into with the Public Relations Officers of the command, on time.