Comptroller Dera Nnadi, Customs Area Controller in charge of Ogun 1 Customs Command.

The new Area Controller of Ogun 1 command of the Nigeria Customs Service, Comptroller Dera Nnadi has said that the command has the potential of not only becoming a major regional trade hub for West and Central Africa and beyond but could also be an example of a well- coordinated border with Nigeria’s proximate neighbours, given its status as a gateway command.

The new Controller has therefore listed five priority mandate arears which would enable the command to achieve this projection. They include sustaining its status as the foremost anti-smuggling command in Zone A if not for the entire service, upholding the Customs’ rules of engagement and integrity in the conduct of officers as well as the operations in the command.

Others include to facilitate legitimate trade at the command when hopefully the borders are reopened and to pursue a robust stakeholders’ engagement across the command’s area of responsibility (AoR).

Speaking at the formal handover ceremony at the command, Comptroller Nnadi, who takes over from Comptroller Peter Kolo, told officers and men of the command that everyone under the command including the leadership and followership cannot afford to fail the Nigerian nation and the stakeholders by not taking it to an enviable height at this time.

He noted that there are high expectations from the Comptroller General of the service, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd.) and the entire management team, the Zonal Coordinator Zone A, the trading community and indeed the shipping stakeholders on everyone at command, which underscores the need for everyone to brace up in order to record even more successes.

The Comptroller also observed that despite the feats achieved by all in the past, there are however daunting challenges bedeviling the command’s various operations, which also limit its quest to maximise anti-smuggling operations, which is the core mandate of the command for now, given that the border has been closed for over two years.

These challenges include the issues of multiple illegal and unproved routes, poor integrity of the supply chain along the border corridor, incessant attacks on personnel at the land borders and limited number of personnel to man the vast border entry points among others, which hamper operations at the command despite the various efforts being put in place to arrest the situations.

He insisted that these challenges as daunting as they may seem is not a justification for non-performance, as much is always expected of all. As part of measures to surmount these challenges, the command under his watch would partner all legitimate stakeholders to continuously improve and reinvent the entire personnel for the common goal and objectives of the service and therefore assured that the command would pursue the five-strategy mandate vigorously in order to achieve the set goals.

In addition to this, the new Controller plans to sit and map out strategies for actualising these objectives in due course and almost immediately and expressed the hope that everyone has agreed to join him in actualising the mission while also agreeing with him to lead by example.

He thanked the CGC and the entire management team of the service for reposing the confidence on him. He also expressed appreciation to the Zonal Coordinator, Zone A, Lagos, Assistant Comptroller General Nike Aremu, Comptroller Kolo, his predecessor and Comptroller Michael Agbara as well as other officers and men of the command for sustaining the successes recorded in the command in the past years.  He also saluted the various stakeholders whose cooperation and synergy contributed to the feat recorded by the officers in the command.

The speech reads in part: “I am glad to resume duty as the Customs Area Comptroller of Ogun 1 Command. I thank God Almighty who made this day possible. I also thank the CGC and the management of NCS for endorsing this will of God. I am resuming in this office with a high sense of responsibility knowing that this Command has tremendous significance to Nigeria Customs Service, Ogun State and Nigeria.

“The reason is obvious. This is the gateway command with potential of not only being a major regional trade hub for West and Central Africa and beyond but can also be an example of coordinated border with Nigeria’s proximate neighbours. I want to thank Comptroller Peter Chado Kolo and Comptroller Michael Agbara and officers and men of the command for sustaining the successes recorded in the command in the past years.  I also wish to thank our various stakeholders whose cooperation and synergy contributed to the feat recorded by the officers in the command.

“Top among this group are the intervention Customs Units, sister security agencies most especially the Nigerian military, It is also very important that we appreciate the Traditional Rulers, community leaders and the youths who aligned with the command in actualising her mandate. Again I give credit for this feat to the two immediate Controllers of the command especially, Comptroller Peter Kolo with whom I visited over 20 traditional rulers and engaged with the heads of all security agencies in order to establish this status.

“I am resuming at the command knowing that though it has consistently recorded numerous achievements in the past, a lot is still desirable and expected of us by the stakeholders which include the CGC, management of the service, Zone A coordinator, the officers and men in the command and of course the border community with whom we expect strong partnership in the enforcement of government policies.  Other government agencies who partner the service also expect us continue to play the role of a lead agency and we cannot afford to let them down.

“Similarly, we hope to live up to the expectations of the law abiding and legitimate trading stakeholders comprising of the brokerage agents and freight forwarders, the importers and exporters and other ancillary service providers whose business must survive on the noble role played by the Customs in the border community.  Of course, I will not forget our media partners who I hope will help propagate and highlight our missions”.