No Hiding Place For Smugglers, Says New FOU Zone ‘C’ Boss, Vows Support For Compliant Traders
No Hiding Place For Smugglers, Says New FOU Zone ‘C’ Boss, Vows Support For Compliant Traders
By Success Okezie
There will be no hiding place for smugglers and other economic saboteurs within the South-East and South-South corridor, the new Acting Comptroller of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Zone ‘C’, Owerri, Deputy Comptroller Farouk Nadaniya, has warned.
Nadaniya issued the warning on Thursday in Owerri, Imo State, during his maiden stakeholders’ engagement meeting since assuming office as head of the Unit.
The meeting, held at the Zonal Headquarters, drew top officers of the Service including Deputy Comptrollers and Assistant Comptrollers, as well as licensed customs agents, importers, exporters and other key players in the business community.
Addressing the gathering, the Acting Comptroller thanked Almighty Allah for the privilege to serve and expressed profound gratitude to the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, and his Management Team for entrusting him with the leadership of the strategic Unit.
Describing his appointment as a great honour and a call to higher responsibility, Nadaniya said he was not new to the Zone, recalling his previous service with the Strike Force, Zone ‘C’ and his last posting as Deputy Comptroller in charge of Compliance at Port Harcourt II Area Command, Onne, where he worked closely with many of the stakeholders present.
He said the essence of the parley was to strengthen the existing partnership between the Service and stakeholders, foster mutual understanding and solicit their cooperation in advancing the core mandates of the Nigeria Customs Service.
According to him, facilitating legitimate trade, protecting government revenue, enforcing compliance with extant customs laws and frontally combating smuggling remain the collective priority of the Service and its stakeholders.
“Our commitment to facilitating legitimate trade does not diminish our resolve to enforce compliance. Compliant traders will be fully supported, but there will be no hiding place for smugglers and those who deliberately violate the law,” Nadaniya declared.
He assured stakeholders of his commitment to running an open, transparent, fair and professional administration anchored on accountability and mutual respect, and urged them to reciprocate by adhering strictly to all Customs procedures and regulations, particularly on transire operations.
The Acting Comptroller also raised serious concern over the huge backlog of unutilized SGDs (Single Goods Declarations) in the system, warning that the development poses a grave threat to revenue collection — a core mandate of the Service.
He disclosed that the persistent backlog has forced the Service to deploy the Customs Police for revenue recovery and charged stakeholders to urgently clear all outstanding SGDs.
“The persistent backlog has necessitated the deployment of Customs Police for revenue recovery. I urge you to seize this opportunity to address the situation decisively and ensure prompt clearance of all outstanding SGDs,” he said.
Nadaniya commended stakeholders for the massive support given to his predecessor and appealed for the same goodwill, understanding and cooperation to enable his administration build on past achievements and further enhance operational efficiency, trade facilitation and service delivery in the Zone.
The meeting ended on a positive note, with both sides renewing their commitment to work together for the growth of legitimate trade and the economic prosperity of the nation.
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