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

Comptroller Dera Nnadi mni, Monday, officially took over the reins of power at the Seme Border Command of the Nigeria Customs Service with a pledge to adopt new strategies that would boost trade at this major trade route in and out of the country, insisting that Nigeria needs to boost, especially export trade at her current level of economic growth and development.

The erstwhile Controller at the Idiroko Border Command of the service however expressed deep gratitude to the Comptroller General of the service, Col. Hameed Ali and the entire management team for the confidence reposed in him to superintend over this crucial entry point into the country, vowed that he would do everything humanly possible to live up to expectations.

At a maiden meeting with some principal senior officers of the command, shortly after he reviewed a Quarter Guard mounted by officers of the command in his honour, Controller, who recently graduated from the Nigeria Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies NIPSS last year, told the officers to roll up their sleeves in order to face obvious daunting challenges associated with current dynamics in the trade supply chains not only in Nigeria but also across the globe.

Comptroller disclosed that before his posting to the Idiroko Border Command, which is the second busiest after Seme was nicknamed a war-zone, a description that did not go down well with him and his management team. This according to him, necessitated some reforms and measures that transformed the command from a war zone to a trade zone within a very short period of time.

He therefore urged the officers and men of the command in his determination to change whatever negative nomenclature that the Seme Border Command has been identified with and by so doing, improve the lot of not only the command but also that of the Nigerian economy as a whole.

“I am aware that the Seme Border has not been designated a war zone, and is currently doing well, however, there is always room for improvement. I need to remind you that there has been an international focus on this command, given the volume of trade that it undertakes, and therefore we the officers and men here currently cannot afford to dwell on past achievements of the command, we urgently need to break new grounds”, he said.

Comptroller Nnadi, who is an internationally acclaimed enforcement Czar, said specifically that there was urgent need for reforms at the command that would further boost regional trade and make the command truly a gateway through which Nigeria could optimise the potential of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement AfCFTA.

The new Controller also told their audience that his deployment to Seme Border Command was strategic, given that it is one of the major gateways to the country and not just in terms of trade and economy but also in terms of regional political activities.

He said: “Nigeria is surrounded by four countries that speak French and the Republic of Benin is one of those nations on this corridor. Through this border, we have access from Abidjan into Lagos corridor, crossing five independent African nations comprising Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, and then Nigeria.

“This corridor is not new. It is as old as Nigeria or even older than the country. Our forefathers traded on this route and when you read the history of the Ghana Empire, Old Oyo Empire, Dahomey Empire, among others, you would find this border in the historical developments.”

“With a population in excess of one billion people, the African continent AfCFTA provides the biggest market for trade in the world and so Seme Border Command will play a leading role in trade facilitation and that is why all of us here must join hands together for this to happen so that our country will also take advantage of the new trade and economic opportunities provided under the AfCFTA.

“It is very important that we treat this opportunity of being posted to Seme Border Command as very crucial because this should be the gateway for AfCFTA in the region. It behooves on all of us to consider our posting to this command as significant to Nigeria and the whole of the African continent.

“Driving down to this Command I saw lots of trailers and I enquired and was told that they are export cargo belonging to the Dangote Group and are lined up for exports through this border. I think we should be excited that some companies, especially indigenous ones still bridge the gap between Nigeria’s imports and exports. However, globally Africa is not performing optimally because the continent records the lowest intra-regional trade and this situation is worse within West Africa. As a sub-region, West Africa is the least trading group within the African continent.”

Comptroller Nnadi also prepared the minds of the officers when he told them that the upcoming general elections in the country could lead to more trade and immigration, hence the need for the service to collaborate with relevant stakeholders in ensuring effective monitoring of goods and persons transiting through the border.

He assured the officers and men of command as well as other stakeholders that he would run an open-door policy to receive complaints and suggestions on operational issues at the border area with the firm belief that no man is an island.

He further thanked the CGC and his management team for the confidence reposed in him and assured that he would leave no stone unturned in delivering on the mandate of the command under his watch.

Recall that the Comptroller General of the service, Col. Hameed Ali rtd had last week, approved a minor cabinet reshuffle that saw the disposition and redeployment of some senior officers including Comptroller Nnadi.