By UDEME CLEMENT
President Goodluck Jonathan  conferred the honour of CFR on the Comptroller General of Customs, even as he expressed great pleasure on the activities of the NCS under the current management. How would you describe the honour?

The honour did not come as a surprise. I indeed welcome it and rejoice with my CG because he has driven the Service with so much passion and zeal. We see in him a zeal to excel and make a difference in the service. The honour is a great achievement for a man who has worked tirelessly in the last two years.

*DC Oteri Richard

He has achieved what the previous managements could not do in terms of transforming the service in all ramifications. Before the recent award, he received the honours of Member of the Federal Republic (MFR) and Officer of the Federal Republic (OFR), which are evidence demonstration of hard work and commitment.

The honour of CFR is a recognition of unequalled transformation, positive reforms and great milestones the Service has witnessed under his management.

What specifically would you say are the outstanding achievements of Dikko ?

There are numerous achievements since his assumption of office as the CG. For instance, he has changed the core value of the Customs by making the Service more efficient. This could be seen in the improved performance of our operations in areas of anti-smuggling and trade facilitation for the benefits of economic growth and development. Revenue generation has increased from an average of N30billion monthly to over N70billion.  He exceeded his revenue target by over N100million as at October this year.

CG Dikko has done so well. He came with a vision and action plans to change the Service for the better. He knew that knowledge for the Service is very essential since the world is now globalised and he designed capacity building programmes for officers within and outside the country.

He knew that exposing officers to modern techniques  of operations would enhance efficiency in the Service and he mapped out the strategy to improve our daily operations to ensure trade facilitations in line with global trend.

He provided necessary logistics, work tools and conducive environment to enable officers carry out their duties effectively. Also, motivation of officers through 100 per cent salary packaged is a remarkable achievement and has helped the officers to give in their best in the Service.

What has the current management done in the area of welfare for officers?

The current management has done so well in terms of welfare for the officers. The CG made provision of accommodation for officers in their respective areas. He went ahead to set up a housing scheme for retiring officers.

In what ways have your Command benefited from these provisions?

Ogun Command has benefited in many ways. For example, we received 50 patrol vehicles that are helping the Command so much in anti-smuggling campaign and policing the border points to prevent offensive goods from coming into the country through the back door.

This could be seen on our activities in the Command between January and October 2011. In January, 75 imported vehicles paid duty, 305 vehicles in February, 457 vehicles in March, 331 vehicles in April, 478 vehicles in May, 731 in June, 807 in July, 871 in August, 957 in September and 1,345 in October, which amounted to the total revenue generation of N685million for imported vehicles, as against the total of N214million in the corresponding period in 2010.

We are calling on everyone to join hands with the Customs in the anti-smuggling campaign to ensure sanity in our economic environment.

So, looking at these innovative agenda, it is clear that NCS has carried out a holistic transformation of great significance. The current management has vigorously pursued policies and developmental objectives as well as maximising the potentials of the Service through capacity building.

For instance, the setting up of a new Department of Human Resource Development (HRD) to fortify the urgent priority of training and retraining of officers  aimed at promoting professionalism and productivity in the service.

This department has already facilitated the training of more than 8,000 senior and junior officers in various departments. The department also made provision for specialised courses, which include training and workshops on ASYCUDA, enforcement and drugs, tariff and trade, accounts and audit, medical, technical, general office administration and human resources.

Also, the recent major promotion exercises paved the way for the elevation in rank of 8,906 officers of the Service. An analysis of the activities of the Service in the last one year shows an increase of almost N150billion in revenue collection, which is quite remarkable in the history of the NCS.

The management provided about 280 sets of arms for officers to enable them curb smuggling. With the zeal of the CG, it is clear that Customs  has more to achieve in terms of protecting local industries to enhance rapid economic growth and development in line with the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan.