Multi-billion dollar Nigeria-Republic of Benin joint border control facility at Seme

Unless urgent measures are adopted to remedy the situation, raging ocean surge might sweep away the $4.5billion Seme Border control modern facility built by the Economic Community of West African States ECOWAS, the Nigeria Customs Service has said.

Donated by the European Union EU to the ECOWS and commissioned in 2018, the border control facility is jointly operated by Nigeria and Republic of Benin, and houses all the security agencies from both countries that operate at the Seme Border.

Customs Area Controller, Seme Border Command, Comptroller Dera Nnadi mni

Addressing members of the Senate ad-hoc Committee on Customs and Excise during an oversight visit recently, Customs Area Controller, Seme Border Command, Comptroller Dera Nnadi Mni, said there was need for urgent measures to address the menace of ravaging ocean surge at Nigeria’s end of the sprawling border control facility.

According to him, one of the residential buildings in the barracks area of the command has already completely gone under the waters while a second building is at the verge of being submerged due to the sea surge.

“No one knows when and how the next surge would happen, it could be when people are asleep. You can imagine the quantum of loss in terms of lives and property that could occur if such a disaster happens at night. My own official residence is about six metres away from the second building that is at the verge of being submerged, so you can imagine how close the surge is to us.

“This is why urgent remedial measures are required in the interim while efforts are made to address the menace on a more permanent and sustainable basis”, Comptroller Nnadi said.

He listed other challenges at the command to include poor public power supply to the border facility, saying that there has only been power supply to the area twice since January this year, a development that negatively impacts cost of operation, especially given the increase in the pump price of petroleum products.

It was further gathered that several letters had been written to the Managing Director of Eko Electricity Distribution Company EKEDC, which is in charge of supplying public power to the area, none of which has changed the situation, even as the letters have not been replied to as at the time of filing this report.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the committee, Senator Francis Ade Fadahunsi, while reacting to the concerns raised by the CAC over the worsening sea surge, having inspected some parts of the joint border control facility, noted that the committee came on the visit at the behest of the leadership of the National Assembly, especially the Senate and would therefore tender its report to it.

Fadahunsi, who is a retired Assistant Comptroller General of the service, assured that the committee would do a comprehensive report on the entire visit, which must also feature all the observed challenges facing the command, which is one of the revenue nests of the Federal Government.

Meanwhile, the Comptroller, also briefed the committee on the operational activities at the command, disclosed that out of the N1.9billion revenue target given to the command for the 2023 fiscal year, it has collected a total of N1.6billion as at July, which represents 72per cent increase compared to the N884million collected in the comparative period of 2022.

He also reeled out some of the Corporate Social Responsibility CSR initiatives by the command for the host communities, which include the renovation of the Badagry General Hospital and donation of drugs and other healthcare materials by the Customs Officers Wives Association, donation of football jerseys and other sports materials to various youth groups within the border communities, among several others.