John Ofikhenua, Abuja
Amidst call for the review of the partial border closure, the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) Comptroller-General, retired Col. Hameed Ali, Monday revealed that the Federal Government is still insisting on the assurance that the neighbouring countries have gotten rid of the manners which provoked the partial closure.
Speaking with reporters after the opening ceremony of the 2020 International Customs Day in Abuja, he said that the Federal Government is still refining of the certain parameters that it has reached with the neighbouring countries on the reopening of the borders.
The theme of this year’s International Customs Day is “Customs fostering sustainability for people, prosperity and the planet.”
Meanwhile, he said that “I believe that as soon as we are able to get to them we will relax certain things at the borders. For now, we are still conducting our partial border closure under the drill.”
According to him, at the moment, Nigerian is expecting a certain degree of compliance from the other countries to know how to cooperate to fortify the borders.
Asked to give an update on the review of the partial border closure, Ali said that “We are still talking with them. There are parameters of understanding. We have reached certain understanding.
“We are still going through many refining of some of those things. We need a process and a situation whereby our border is secured and we are guaranteed that all the manners we find in our borders will no longer be there. I believe that as soon as we are able to get to them we will relax certain things at the borders. For now, we are still conducting our partial border closure under the drill.
“We are expecting that not too long from now, when we get responsive adherence from our neighbours we will know how we can work together to fortify our borders. We are not only talking about Nigeria, we are also asking them to ensure that their borders are also fortified from our own illicit trafficking.”
Earlier, he noted that the results of the ongoing border drill in collaboration with other security agencies which is renewing opportunities that exist within agricultural, economic and manufacturing sectors among others.
The Customs boss said that the opportunities have stimulated more economic activities, as farmers are enjoying unprecedented patronage, farms are being expanded and job opportunities being provided.
He said that the Service was yet to get the 2020 revenue target from the federal government.
Last year, according to him, the Service recorded a historic collection of N1.4trillion revenue, exceeding the N937billion target that the government tasked it to meet.
Ali noted that recently too, the service recorded the interception of illicit cash flows through its airports and trade in endangered species.
Read Also; How border closure has helped Nigeria
He pointed out that there was also a record of the seizure of prohibited articles of trade comprising food, counterfeit and other items harmful to environment that was valued at N32.83 billion during 4,599 incidents in 2019.
Presenting the goodwill message of the World Customs Organization Secretary, Deputy Comptroller General of the NCS Ronke Olubiyi sought the enlargement of the “Digital Customs” agenda with greater emphasis on the use of modern technologies, including a high-performance, paperless Single Window environment and a solid It infrastructure.
She called for the expeditious implementation of the WcO framework of standards on cross-border e-commerce to leverage e-commerce opportunities in an inclusive mannersp, while effectively tackling the associated challenges.
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