The Nigeria Customs Service has promoted a total of 1,596 junior officers, who were successful in the 2016 promotion screening exercise.

Comptroller General of the service, Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (Rtd), who announced the promotion, said that the promotion was basically a call to service.

According to him, the promotion of the junior officers is based on the performances of the personnel at the 2016 promotion examination, annual performance evaluation scores, seniority and available of vacancies at various ranks.

It was also gathered that the final list of promoted personnel was released after a thorough vetting to ensure strict adherence to public service promotion guidelines.

Details of the promotion exercise show that a total of 32 General Duty officers of the rank of Assistant Inspectors were promoted to full inspectors while 13 support staff were also promoted, bringing to a total of 45 personnel promoted in that category.

Also promoted from Customs Assistant I to Senior Customs Assistant were 510 personnel, 53 support staff bringing to a total of 563 even as 432 men within the Customs Assistant II cadre were elevated to Customs Assistant I as well as 218 support staff      bringing to a total of 650 staff in that category

The records also show that no Senior Customs Assistant was promoted to Chief Customs Assistant while five support staff were elevated even as a total of 298 staff comprising four men of the Customs Assistant III cadre were promoted to Customs Assistant II and 294 support staff, bringing to a grand total of 1, 561 men promoted based on the staff evaluation, performance and availability of positions, among other criteria.

Meanwhile, a total of 35 other junior personnel were upgraded as a result of additional qualifications, which brings to a cumulative total of 1, 596 personnel promoted under the 2016 exercise.

The CG, who congratulated the lucky officers, however reminded them that their elevation is more of a call to higher duty, especially at this time when much is expected from the service.

“All affected officers and men of the service must work hard to secure the borders as well as collect maximum revenue to enable the Federal Government meet the yearnings of Nigerians”, the CG said.

It would be recalled that the service has in the last two years been faced with the consistent shortfall s in its revenue collection, which has negatively affected the funding of the service since it gets seven per cent of its revenue as its statutory source of funding.

This sharp decline in its revenue has been blamed on the sharp decline in the volume of imports into the country occasioned by inconsistent fiscal and monetary policies of the government, especially in the last two years.