Customs CG Tells Newly Promoted Comptrollers: Your Primary Responsibility is Revenue Collection

By DAPO OLAWUNI

Comptroller General of Nigeria Customs Service, Col Hameed Ali has reminded the newly promoted officers, especially those on the Comptroller ranks that their primary responsibility is to generate revenue into the coffers of the Federal Government.

Ali stated this while decorating newly promoted officers under the Zone A of the service in Lagos yesterday.

Represented by the Cordinator of the Zone, Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs, (ACG), Kathleen Ekekezie, he said the officers have all it takes to track Customs revenue wherever it is hiding, notwithstanding the Coronavirus pandemic.

He urged the newly promoted officers of the service to ensure trade compliance and integrity at all levels to increase government revenue, even as he tasked the officers to work diligently to justify their promotions.

The CGC added that it is the thought of Customs management to make officers happy and the recent promotion is part of it.

“This is not the first time some of the promoted officers are making attempt to get to this rank. I’m going to convey your gratitude to the Comptroller General, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd) to tell him how happy you are.

“I’m very sure that with this new rank, you are going to do things better than you used to do it when you are deputy comptroller. You are going to do things beautifully well now.
“I want to remind us that here in Zone A, our trade is absolute compliance at all levels and in everything. Compliance is not just meant for traders alone, it is also for Customs officers.
“So, maintain compliance at all levels so that the Customs CG won’t regret allowing such promotion happened.”, the Zonal Coordinator admonished.
The CGC, speaking through Mrs Ekekezie, urged the new Controllers to instill compliance at all levels and coupled with the level of the traders they meet everyday and with the officers that are going to serve under them.

He further urged them to maintain compliance and show integrity and do things diligently.
“We are telling you today that you just have to be compliant and instill compliance at all levels and you must show integrity, that is the decree for this zone. You are going to find out that some of you will soon become Area Controllers and when you find yourself in that position, remember that everybody under you, just look at them as babies, people who must be coached, mentored and then you sit back and wait for the feedback.

“When you mentor and coach, you will get the best in the officers that are going to be placed under you and in doing that you must remember something, you must remember procedures.

“Procedure is another decree that governs everything we are doing at Nigeria Customs Service. The moment you step out of the procedure, you are on your own. If you maintain the procedure, you can never go wrong. There is procedure for everything that we do,” she stated.

He said the moment they stick with the procedure, they can never go wrong but once they step out of the procedure, there will be all manners of issues. She also stated that there is need to always maintain procedure and guides everything they do, which is the law that Customs follow.