Shipping Manifest

Customs chief creates Customs Consultative C'ttee to monitor personnel, importers  

The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Ahaji Dikko Inde Abdullahi, has made further moves at facilitating trade, with the establishment of a nascent body, the Customs Consultative Committee (CCC).

The CCC succeeds the Customs Joint Committee on Monitoring and Compliance from which it metamorphosed, the former also inherited the membership of the latter.

The Customs chief announced the establishment of the nasateceent body, when members of the non-defunct Customs Joint Committee on Monitoring and Compliance, led by its Chairman, and NCS Zone ‘A’ Zonal Coordinator, Assistant Comptroller-General Victor Osita Gbemudu, submitted a report to the Customs Management at the Customs Headquarters, Abuja.

Charging members of the CCC to swing into action by monitoring the levels of compliance by both Customs personnel and importers, Abdullahi urged them to report whatever encumberances to trade facilitation.

The Comptroller-General, who commended the exemplary work done by the members in the defunct committee, in spite of challenges, announced the deployment of a brand new bus to the CCC, as well as assurances that suitable office accommodation would be provided the committee by the Service in order to facilitate the execution of its brief.

Similarly, the Customs boss further announced that individual members of the committee would be issued their respective letters of appointment to further facilitate their work in the committee.

It would be recalled that the Joint Committee on Monitoring and Compliance was set up by the Comptroller-General of Customs when he led other top brass of the Service to a maiden Town Hall Meeting with a cross section of importers at the Lagos International Trade Fair Complex, Ojo, Lagos, on March 3, 2012.

Member of the committee were drawn from the Customs, importers, Customs agents and the press.

That committee’s members included: the Zonal Coordinator, NCS Zone ‘A’, as Chairman; Chief Superintendent Ini Ukpanah, Secretary; Comptroller Michael Adedeji Adewale, Comptroller, Administration, NCS Zone ‘A’; Controllers, Tin-Can Island Port Area Command, Federal Operations Unit (FOU) Zone ‘A’, Apapa Area One Command, Kirikiri Lighter Terminal Area Command, Comptrollers Isa Nuhu, Dan Ugo, Adamu Yusuf Garko, Ralph Obiora Bellu and Willy Egbudin, respectively.

Some other members are: Chief Executive Officer, Virtues Marine and Freight Services Limited, Mr. Eugene Nweke; Chairman, Tin-Can Island Port Chapter, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Sir. Jude Maduka; Editor SHIPS & PORTS DAILY, and Representative, Maritime Reporters’ Association of Nigeria (MARAN), Mr. Obiajulu Agu; Chief Executive Officer, Cross Link International Limited, Evangelist Reginald Okpala; Chairman, Progressive Auto Dealers Forum, Comrade Chinedu Ukatu; President, Agric Coker Plumbing Materials, Mr. Golden Ani; Secretary, Task Force, Odun-Ade Building Materials, Ambassador Charles Okafor; and President, Mandilas United Traders Association, Chief Tochukwu Ezeani.

Others are: Representative, Electrical Dealers Association of Nigeria (EDAN), Mr. Cyril Amuh; President, Balogun Business Association (BBA), Brother Leonard Ogbonnia; President, Association of Progressive Traders, Chief Juderingo Okeke; Deputy Coordinator, Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Chief Oye Ariyo; and Member, ANLCA Board of Trustees, Prince Taiye Oyeniyi.

With the old committee's members having being converted members of the new committee, already, it was learnt, they have been strategising on continuing on the same path of selfless service, which had seen them work assiduously in the former committee.

 

It was learnt that the members had executed the brief of the defunct committee quite excellently, even in the face of non-provision of sitting allowance by the NCS.

It was gathered that the members deployed personal resources to actualise that committee’s terms of reference in good time.