The Ag. Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi MFR, as part of his familiarization visit to zone A’, toured the Lekki port and environs on Wednesday, 20th July, 2023.
He kicked off with the Lagos Free Trade Zone Area Command, where he was received by the Area Controller, Dorathy Yisa-Omogbehin.
The Ag. CGC stated that the free zone concept promises the country many benefits.
He urged officers to collaborate with investors and cultivate integrity and transparency.
“In service provision, we must ensure we are at our best in service delivery. I will also encourage you to collaborate with our investors, support those that are compliant, report and apply sanctions to those that are not”, he noted.
“Our officers must cultivate a high sense of integrity and transparency in what you do”, he emphasized.
In his words, “The concept of free zone promises the country many benefits, in terms of foreign investment, provision of jobs, creating foreign exchange and of course transfer of skills and technology to Nigeria”.
Highlighting the command’s activities, the Customs Area Controller, Comptroller Dorathy Yisa-Omogbehin, cited accommodation as one of the significant challenges of the Command. She also stated that the Command has generated over N27 billion this year.
“The most challenging thing is accommodation, we have a lot of work to do here, but we lack accommodation. We have to send some of our officers to town. If we must do our work well, the officers must be around”, she stated.
“In terms of revenue, this year, we have generated N27.5 billion, we have also issued demand notices, and our intervention stands at N1. 2 billion this year”, she noted.
The Ag. CGC visited the headquarters of the Lagos Free Zone, Lekki Port and Lekki free zone development company, where he was received with a warm reception by the Chief Executive Officers and management of the organizations as well as representatives of sister agencies and stakeholders.
The elated boss assured of the services’ support to facilitate and boost trade in Nigeria while also urging partner agencies with customs to portray the concept of the free trade zone.
“As a responsible agency of government, we want to pledge our support and as a deliberate strategy, I want to let you know that I will be open to regular dialogue with you so that those prayers you talked about, we will be able to surmount them”, he said.
“There is still a lot of misunderstanding about the operation and concept of the free trade zone in Nigeria, so you do have the responsibility to promote a better understanding, not just customs but also agencies of government that are involved in the administration and management”, he added.
The Ag. CGC ended the day’s activities with a tour of the Dangote Refinery.
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