By Emma Ujah, Abuja Bureau Chief

The appointment of Mr. Bashir Adewale Adeniyi as Acting Comptroller-General (CGC) of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) by President Bola Tinubu, on Monday June 19, 2023, did not come to stakeholders and close watchers of the organization as a surprise.

Mr. Adeniyi, a consummate officer with over 30 years of experience in Customs Administration covering Strategic and operational responsibilities possesses deep understanding of the complex and constantly evolving international trade landscape.

The Ag. CGC has strong command of customs regulations, laws, and procedures, as well as, the ability to navigate and adapt to changing policies and regulations. He has demonstrated excellent communication and leadership skills responsible for leading teams of customs officials, working closely with stakeholders across a variety of industries, including manufacturers, exporters and importers of various goods, in the last 30 years.

Mr. Adeniyi built strong relationships with stakeholders and collaborated effectively to ensure efficient and effective movement of goods across borders, over the course of his career. He has a keen eye for details and ability to identify potential risks and areas of non-compliance.

This is evident in effective risk management strategies, guidance and support developed and implemented for his teams to ensure that all customs procedures are followed accurately and efficiently. He is dedicated to promoting trade and economic growth while ensuring compliance with all relevant laws and regulations.

He is known to maintain the highest standards of integrity and professionalism, as well as, committed to continuously improving his knowledge and skills to stay ahead of the ever-changing customs landscape.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Some of his accomplishments include: Conferment of National Honour of Member of the Order of Federal Republic (MFR)by His Excellency Mohammadu Buhari GCFR President of Federal Republic of Nigeria, October 2022; Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, August 2022;  Comptroller – General ofCustoms’ Award for seizure of $8,065,612 million cash at Murtala Mohammed InternationalAirport, January 2020; and Large College Crest Award for Excellence in Serviceas Deputy Commandant, NCCSC ,Gwagwalada December 2019.

 Others were: World CustomsOrganization Award of Excellence as Project Team Leader, Securité ParCollaboration (SPC++), a Customs Regional Security Project, January 2018; Jointwinner of Burson -Marsteller Award for the Best Research Project on”Reputation Management in Nigeria Customs Service” in partial fulfillmentof the award of Masters of Science in Communications, USI, Lugano Switzerland, November 2013.

Mr. Adeniyi was until his appointment, the DCG in charge of the Strategic Research and Policy of the NCS.

 In that capacity, he coordinated engagements with International Organizations including; World Customs Organization (WCO), World Trade Organization (WTO), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF)

He also coordinated Customsbilateral and multilateral trade relations and Supervised the implementation of emerging issues within Customs including Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), Data Analytics and Environment Protection.

As head of Research and Policy, Mr.Adeniyi was responsible for the development of the Strategic Plan for Customs, as well as, the coordination of Monitoring and Evaluation of its Plan implementation.

Before then, he was an AssistantComptroller-General of Customs between February 2020 – January 2023.

As Comptroller of Customs between April 2017 – February 2020, the Ag, CGC was at some point the Customs Area Comptroller of Murtala Mohammed International Airport Command which is one of the most important Commands of the Service.

He also pioneered the commencement of the Command and Staff Courses at the Nigeria Customs Service Command and Staff College, Gwagwalada, in 2017.

The Ag. CGC who participated in all Governing Council meetings of the World Customs Organisation in Brussels, Belgium from 2010-2019 and worked closely with many past CGCs is expected to create an enabling environment for trade facilitation, with priority on the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement.

Challenges requiring urgent attention

Pushing for a greater trade among Africans and especially giving Nigerian manufacturers the enabling environment to export Made-in-Nigeria goods to other African countries and of course the larger world is a task that Mr. Adeniyi and his team must accomplish in the interest of the Nigerian economy.

The Ag. CGC must bear in mind that the greatest mandate of the NCS is trade facilitation and he must deploy his officers and men to achieve that goal, with keen eyes on expanding the nation’s exportation of goods, in order to generate more foreign exchange.

 Earning much more foreign exchange through export of goods remains the only hope of Nigeria’s recovery from the current economic doldrums with imported inflation choking Nigerians. In this regard, the Ag. CGC must find very creative ways of engaging other agencies of government with a view to reducing the number of checkpoints at the nation’s borders, such that exporters can move their goods more freely than has been thecase.

ASYCUDDA/ Single Window Project

Our nation has lost import revenue to our neighbours on the West African Coast for too long.  Mr. Adeniyi knows this too well.  Why do Nigerian importers prefer the ports in other countries to our seaports?  The ASYCUDDA or Single Window Projects were initiated with a view to making clearing of goods faster and in line with international standards.  But alleged corruption has continued to bug the projects down.  The Ag. CGC can make a difference and should.  Expectations are very high in this regard.

Some stakeholders have concluded that the Single Window project that will ensure a transparent cargo examination and clearance process ia a mirage because of corruption at the ports.

In fact, former Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, while commissioning the Command, Control, Communication, and Intelligence System (CCCIS) developed by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) in Lagos, in July 2016, accused Customs of frustrating the Single Window project.  Mr. Adeniyi has the opportunity to take every necessary step to conclude the project and prove the former minister wrong.

ICT equipment, especially scanning machines in Arrival Halls of international airports especially MMIA, the largest in the country, is critical and should be given immediate attention.

Border Security

The claim by some state actors that “only God can secure the nation’s borders” is merely evading their responsibilities.  Nigeria is not the only country with vast borders.

The Northern borders have particularly been used to exacerbate Nigeria’s security problems.  The desert areas should make for clearer and farther views for border security?  Aerial surveillance is easier even non-aviation experts know this.  But in our country, we have been told that the fall of Muammar Gaddafi of Libya and the crises that ensued created an avenue for religious extremists and other criminals to bring in weapons from that North African country- of course through the Northern borders.

Perhaps, the Ag. CGC and his team must sit down early in their administration to re-strategise and increase aerial surveillance along the Northern corridors to check the influx of arms from that axis, as well as, the massive smuggling from the neighbouring countries.

Staff welfare

The last CGC, Col. Hameed Ali, a retired Colonel of the Nigerian Army, whose appointment was seen as an anomaly was said to have significantly improved the lot of the staff of the Service.  However, staff of the Service who spoke to Vanguard said that there is still much more room for improvement in terms of their welfare.

 There were promotion arrears which the out-gone CGC was said to have refused to approve.  This is in addition to yearnings for review of allowances in line with what is applicable to other revenue generation agencies.

 For instance, officers who were promoted in December last year have yet to receive their arrears and allowances.

In addition, there is a need to improve on the provision of accommodation of officers across the commands of the service, which should be given urgent attention to enable the staff to concentrate more in order deliver on their mandate.