The Nigeria Customs Service has sought the intervention of the National Assembly Senate Committee on Customs to address its core needs by providing modern tools for the complete automation of its operations to enhance trade facilitation and revenue generation.
The Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, who made the plea on Tuesday when he met with the members of the committee, said the call underscores the commitment of Nigeria Customs Service to foster economic growth, job creation, and dynamic trade relations.
He said a consortium has been granted concession by the Federal Government to modernise the operations of the NCS.
“The first major objective of the consortium was to provide an end-to-end ICT platform to digitalise procedures and processes. The second one is to look at the present infrastructure and update it in line with international standards, ranking amongst the best in the world.
“The last part is the general organisation of our infrastructure to provide the tools needed that will be associated with these objectives, deliverables, and part of deliverables first is to build a unified Customs management system. The system needs to process the traditions of goods that will provide electronic party systems for the service whereby its entire processes would be automated.
“The conditions of the non-intrusive inspection system include provisions, revisions of cargo tracking systems, intelligent gates, new infrastructure, like a data centre to build the capacity of officers because it is essential in the last phase of the project,” he said.
Adeniyi also urged the lawmakers to actively support local business people in exporting items, emphasising that such a perspective shift could significantly contribute to boosting Nigeria’s economy and play a pivotal role in job creation.
Chairman of the committee, Sen. Muhammad Sani, said, “By encouraging a more balanced approach, the aim is to empower local businesses through increased attention to export initiatives, aligning with a broader vision for a sustainable economic landscape.”
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