By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Dr Zainab Ahmed on Tuesday commissioned three newly installed mobile scanners to boost operations of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, at APM Terminals, Apapa, Lagos.
Speaking at event, Mrs. Ahmed disclosed that federal government has made provision for the training of 120 officers of the NCS to operate the scanning machines, adding that the scanners would modernize the operations of the NCS in line with international best practices.
According to her, the current process of physical examination of cargoes is time-consuming, causing loss of revenue to the government and cannot be compared with the scanning of cargoes which is carried out in minutes and with enhanced capacity to detect prohibited items that are concealed in cargoes.
She said the commissioning of the three new scanners is a milestone in the efforts to expedite Customs operations, achieve ease of doing business, facilitate trade, prevent port congestion, increase revenue generation to government and improve national security. The three scanning machines were installed at Apapa port, Tin Can Island Port and Onne Port.
The minister assured that efforts are being made to procure more scanners for the seaports, land borders and airports in the country.
She said: “I’ll therefore, implore the management of the NCS to collaborate with the scanners contractor, to ensure proper maintenance and full utilization of the scanners within the thirty (30) months provided in the contract agreement, as well as enhanced capacity building and training of 120 NCS scanning officers.”
Also speaking, the Comptroller General of Nigeria Customs Service, Col Hameed Ali (Rtd) assured that the Service will be fully responsible for the management and operations of this equipment.
“Unlike previous attempts at managing scanners, our officers have been trained up to level 2 maintenance capability. This ensures that the day-to-day management of these machines will be proficiently handled by our officers who have been certified by the manufacturers to carry out basic maintenance.
“We appreciate our partners, the terminal operators, who have taken the pains to adjust their operations to suit the innovations of the moment. Our continuous collaboration will ensure that cargos are promptly delivered for scanning and evacuated from the ports as soon as they are certified to be compliant by our officers and other regulatory agencies”, he said.
Col Ali reiterated the importance of willful compliance to extant laws regarding international trade, adding that Customs is ready to assist compliant traders.
“We know that this equipment will be of special benefit to manufacturers who import homogenous items in large volumes. We also know that importers of high-risk goods will no longer have any place to hide. He said.
Minister of Finance, Budget & National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, in a chat tith the Comptroller General of the Nigerian Customs Service Col. Hamid Ibrahim Ali ( Rtd) before the commencement of the program for the launch of the equipment.
