CGC VISIT: MASS TRANSFERS HIT TIN-CAN CUSTOMS ...204 Officers Redeployed Not less than 204 customs officers serving at the Tin Can Island Port (TCIP) in Lagos have been redeployed to other commands of the service nationwide in a sudden wave of movements targeted at the area. This followed a recent surprise visit by the Comptroller General of Customs , Dikko Inde Abdullahi to the customs operational formations inside the ports where serious official misdemeanor and misconducts were discovered . Some stakeholders at the port told The Journal that Abdullahis visit was sequel to a barrage of reports against some operatives of the customs with particular reference to a female Deputy Comptroller accused of extortion,highhandedness and distorting facilitation of legitimate trade. Speaking on a telephone interview, spokesman for Tin Can customs, Chris Osunkwo,Jnr confirmed the transfers. He said the 204 officers affected are in the Assistant Superintendent of Customs cadre and that no other cadre has been affected by the transfers . Osunkwo, who did not disclose the total number of customs personnel at the command,could not confirm if more transfers for more superior officers will follow in days or weeks to come. Authoritative sources at the customs headquarters who prefers anonymity disclosed that the 204 persons affected is just the beginning of more transfers to come in weeks and months.They add that the transfers cannot be done in one swoop to give room for proper movements and succession without creating a hitch in customs operations at Nigerias second largest port. They add that transferred officers will be replaced seamlessly to avoid complaints of manpower shortage or delay in the clearing process at the port. One of them added that before the end of April 2014, a complete sweep would have been achieved at the port to give room for a fresh set of officers expected to deploy all the modern techniques for customs operations and recent innovations to maximum use. We are moving them cadre by cadre. This is just the first of many movements to be done in TinCan Island Port Command. No cadre will be spared as the CGC is not treating any form of corruption allegation with kid gloves. We at the Headquarters are tired of the too many reports against our officers at TCIP one of our sources said. ASC cadre consist more of fresh graduate officers who we look forward to evolving an IT oriented,modern and more dedicated customs workforce. We see them as the customs of the future. They dont have much experience on the job, so their absence will not have a crippling effect on our work.Their contemporaries from other commands will replace them while the transfers run its full course he concluded. The surprise visit by Nigerian Customs chief has received applauds from port users who are challenging other heads of government agencies operating at the ports to emulate Abdullahi and get a first hand assessment of their operatives performances on the field. They see it as a step in the right direction that is capable of injecting sanity and a sense of closer supervision on field officers. Some of them who commented on this magazine report shared and monitored on the social media (Facebook) praised Abdullahi for the novel approach to monitoring his men. Kayode Farinto Collins,a chieftain of the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) and former Chairman of Tin Can Island Chapter of the Association said The Controller General of Customs visit is applauded. More grease to his elbow Ari Ayuba, Public Relations Officer of the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA) thanked the CGC for the visit while Segun Musa, Chairman of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) Murtala Muhammad International Airport Chapter, said the CGC has a lot of work. Abdullahi had threatened to sanction a female Deputy Comptroller attached to the Tin Can Island Port in Lagos over allegation of official misconduct. Jane Shoboiki who heads a customs unit at the port was among officers and port users taken by surprise by the CGCs Monday morning visit Nigerias number one customs officer was said to have arrived the port inspecting customs operatives performances. Married to a retired army general,Mrs Shoboiki first stirred up controversy in 2012 after she was alleged to have led soldiers to harass and beat up some freight forwarders in their Apapa office. The incident which attracted the National Human Rights Commission,also saw her in a schism with Chief Boniface Aniebonam, a leading freight forwarder and founder of National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders(NAGAFF). Chris Osunkwo confirmed the visit of the CGC and stated further that Mrs Shoboiki was only asked to make a statement over an official misconduct allegedly perpetuated by a junior officer under her watch. The junior officer was ordered to be detained at the customs enforcement unit while the Deputy Comptroller was directed to make a statement on the misconduct which was discovered by the CG himself Osunkwo said. At a stakeholders meeting in 2013, the customs boss had openly described tin can as the port giving him the highest cause for worry as according to him the officers and agents appears resistant to change. The CGC surprise visit has sent a warning signal to other customs formations in Lagos causing officers to be more steady at their duty posts with a renewed vow to report punctually to work. He was said to be accompanied at the visit by 2 Deputy Comptrollers General and a comptroller of customs. Application of various customs modernization techniques aimed at achieving quicker clearance of goods at the ports, preventing all forms of government revenue leakage, reducing unnecessary human contacts in the process and achieving a harmonized and synchronized process involving all stakeholders (single window) have been part of recent customs enlightenment drive. Some sources argue that most officers in Tin Can are yet to fully embrace the various instruments of change which include knowledge and workings of the Nigeria Trade Hub(an intuitive and interactive web portal for Nigerian business community) and Pre Arrival Assesment Report(PAAR) which replaced the former regime of Risk Assesment Report(RAR). RAR was an advisory document on the likely status of import being issued by some destination inspection service providers whose services were dispensed with last year.
Posted on: Tue, 11 Mar 2014 12:33:33 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015