@ Katsina Times 

When Bashir Adewale Adeniyi wa appointed as Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service in June 2023 by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, many Nigerians recalled that he was the Assistant Comptroller of Customs that supervised The seizure of $8.07 million in cash as it was about to be taken out of the country through the E-Wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, in 2020. That act of bravery was regarded as a badge of integrity, and his elevation to the rank of CGC was thought of as well deserved.

Since his appointment to head the prestigious agency, he has made successful efforts to align the statutory responsibilities of the Nigeria Customs Service with the Renewed Hope policy framework of the Bola Tinubu administration. The new NCS leadership hit the ground running from June, 2023, with modernizing the operations of the service in line with the Nigeria Customs Service Act (2023) which takes cognizance of new trends and guidelines that are operational globally in the area of trade facilitation, revenue generation and the prevention of smuggling. 

In response to the declaration of a State of Emergency on revenue collection, the new leadership introduced several revenue enhancement measures which include a 90-day window as approved by the President through the Honorable Minister of Finance, allowing owners of a vehicles to pay appropriate duties on previously imported vehicles. The initiative followed the establishment of a Revenue Review Performance Recovery Team at the NCS tasked with recovering potential post-revenue from pending transactions with the Customs. 

The Service also reinforced its federal operations units to pursue, intercept an arrest smuggling networks that deal in arms and ammunitions, illicit drugs and other contraband goods. To this end, the Comptroller General has since his appointment paid advocacy visits to traditional rulers and state governments on border communities in order to strengthen the collaboration and cooperation between the Customs and the border communities in the area of information sharing to bust trans-border criminals.

Also in this regard the customs has strengthened collaboration with other security agencies along the border particularly the police, Department of State Services, Immigrations in the area of intelligence sharing to check the smuggling of elicit contraband items into the country. 

The CGS also took the lead in reviving the activities of the National Trade Facilitation Committee, hosting various engagements of the committee with the ultimate aim of eliminating bottlenecks to trade in border markets across the country. Some measures taken in this regard include the decongestion of ports and reopening of previously inaccessible roads, the reopening of some land borders that were closed in recent years, the consistent promotion of legal trade in border markets and the designation of a dedicated terminal for exports in several commands. 

These are in addition to a strengthened collaboration with key stakeholders towards the effective implementation of trade agreements like the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as well as ECOWAS trade protocols. The Service has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding  (MoU) with strategic trade partners like China Customs, besides another engagement with the Benin Customs to facilitate the creation of a new joint border post along the Segbana-Tsamia border with the Republic of Benin in Kebbi State of Nigeria.

Also in this regard, the NCS in partnership with the World Bank and the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment convened with maritime stakeholders as well as regulatory and security agencies to identify bottle necks hindering trade facilitation with the aim of providing a holistic approach to addressing them. At the meeting the customs assured these stakeholders that the service has entered a new era of collaboration and strategic synergy with security and regulatory agencies and other key partners in the area of trade facilitation in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration.

Meanwhile CG Adeniyi has also in the last one year greatly enhanced revenue collection by the NCS. Within just one year the revenue collected by the NCS grew by 74% with a total figure of N4.49 trillion Naira, between June 2023 and made 2024. This by far surpasses the revenue collected between June 2022 and May 2023 which was in the sum of N2.58 trillion. This feat was achieved through a sustained increase of an average of 70.13% for twelve consecutive months which translates to N343 billion each month, compared to the average N202 billion monthly revenue collection in the previous year.

In order to effectively achieve these goals, the CGS approved and implemented a number of incentives for officers and men of the service in order to boost their morale in discharging their official responsibilities. These include regular promotions and appointment of deserving officers to management positions and the review of welfare incentives across board which will be implemented in due course. 

The area of capacity building has also received a boost with regular trainings being organized for Customs offices. Notable among these were the series of capacity building trainings organized by the World Customs Organization (WCO) in collaboration with the European Union (EU), Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation and GIZ. The training focused on critical Customs procedures such as Tariff Classification, Rules of Origin (RoO), and Customs Valuation. The training was divided into three stages: intermediate, advanced and Training-of-Trainers (ToT). The capacity building efforts by the WCO and its partners have been pivotal in enhancing the skills and knowledge of the officers.

The NCS also in the last one year reviewed its public communication policy by instituting a routine to update the public on its activities through quarterly reports. These reports provide detailed insight into the activities and operations of the Service, thereby enhancing transparency and accountability while also creating a window for public scrutiny and inputs to further improve the operations of the NCS.

These and many other reforms earned the Customs a favorable ranking by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) which aims to streamline business operations in Nigeria through reforms and policies. Between 2020 and 2022, the NCS maintained an average percentage score of 18.45% as 28th out of 37 MDAs in the ranking. However by 2024 out of the 36 MDAS assessed by PEBEC, the NCS was ranked fourth which is an improvement by about 95%. This is the result of efficient and innovative leadership provided by CGC Bashir Adeniyi. Meanwhile with several other innovative reforms in the pipeline, the NCS is poised for greater accomplishments in the following years.

 Muhammad Danjuma Katsina is the editor in chief of Katsina Times online newspapers and a Magazine Katsina city news. 08035904408.