Customs boss seeks Senate committee’s support to boost automation
The Acting Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Customs Service, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, seeks the intervention of the National Assembly Senate Committee on Customs to address its core needs by providing modern tools for the complete automation of its operations to enhance trade facilitation and revenue generation.
During his address at the National Assembly in Abuja on November 28, 2023, Adeniyi emphasized the Service’s dedication to fostering economic growth, job creation, and vibrant trade relations.
He said a consortium has been granted concession by the Federal Government to modernise the operations of the NCS.
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“The first major objective of the consortium was to provide an end-to-end ICT platform to digitalise procedures and processes. The second one is to look at the present infrastructure and update it in line with international standards, ranking amongst the best in the world.
“The last part is the general organisation of our infrastructure to provide the tools needed that will be associated with these objectives, deliverables, and part of deliverables first is to build a unified Customs management system. The system needs to process the traditions of goods that will provide electronic party systems for the service whereby its entire processes would be automated.
“The conditions of the non-intrusive inspection system include provisions, revisions of cargo tracking systems, intelligent gates, new infrastructure, like a data centre to build the capacity of officers because it is essential in the last phase of the project,” he said.
Adeniyi also urged the lawmakers to actively support local business people in exporting items, emphasising that such a perspective shift could significantly contribute to boosting Nigeria’s economy and play a pivotal role in job creation.
Chairman of the committee, Senetor Muhammad Sani, said, “By encouraging a more balanced approach, the aim is to empower local businesses through increased attention to export initiatives, aligning with a broader vision for a sustainable economic landscape.”
While discussions with the House of Representatives’ Procurement Committee were postponed to another date, the Nigeria Customs Service remains committed to its objectives and seeks the necessary support from the National Assembly to achieve them.