Valentine Okafor
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has organized a sensitization workshop aimed at enhancing service delivery and trade facilitation.
The event held in Lagos on Thursday, 17 October 2024, at the Customs Training College, Ikeja.
The workshop, which kicked off in Kano and is now in Lagos, brought together licensed customs agents and bonded terminal operators.
Representing the Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC), Comptroller Maureen Mark-Ihesie, in charge of revenue from the zonal office, emphasised the NCS’s commitment to improving operations.
She said, “The Nigeria Customs Service has always been committed to enhancing service delivery and facilitating trade, and today’s workshop is a significant step in that direction. This gathering provides us a unique opportunity to share and exchange ideas and strengthen our collaboration to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our operations.”
Mark-Ihesie highlighted the benefits of facilitated trade, saying, “When trade is facilitated, it will bring in more revenue because if an importer brings cargo into the country and within 24 hours, it is cleared, that will encourage him to bring more, and by bringing more, more revenue is coming in.”
She encouraged traders to take advantage of the forum and abide by the service’s rules and regulations.
Stakeholders at the event praised the NCS’s progress in modern technology but encouraged further improvement.
National Publicity Secretary of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Emmanuel Onyeme, emphasised the workshop’s importance and pledged the association’s commitment to compliance and taking necessary precautions to avoid being smuggling victims.
“The essence of coming here is to learn, and it’s our duty, especially as managing directors, to take it to our offices, train people, and talk to our members. At this point, when we get jobs, we need to find out the importer we’re dealing with; they should be able to give us a true picture of what they have in the container so that we don’t turn out to be victims at the end of the day.”
The workshop is part of the NCS’s efforts to streamline processes, combat smuggling, and promote legitimate trade.