The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says that the Nigerian government will continue to engage neighbouring countries on the need to comply with the protocols on transit trade of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The Comptroller General of the NCS, retired Col. Hameed Ali, said at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Stakeholders’ Forum on Border Closure that he had engaged the customs administration of neighbouring countries.
Ali, who was represented by the Zonal Coordinator, Zone ‘A’ Lagos, Mrs. K.C. Ekekezie, said: “Their attention was drawn to the need for compliance to the ECOWAS protocols on transit of goods and persons.”
Ali said that from experience, neighbouring countries were observed to have flouted the protocols.
According to him, the protocol demands that when a transit container berths at a seaport, the receiving country is mandated to escort same without tampering with the seal to the border of the destination country.
“Unfortunately, from experience, we discover that they break the seals of the containers on transit to Nigeria at their ports.
“They then transload the goods on open trucks which belong to their country, which would in turn make entry into Nigeria and transload same onto Nigerian trucks.
“Also, efforts which include providing escort vehicle to them yielded no positive change,” he said.
The Comptroller-General stated that the border closure had curbed the smuggling of foreign rice and other prohibited items into the country.
He disclosed that the NCS revenue generation had grown by 300 percent and that the revenue would be used to build more infrastructure and develop critical sectors of the economy.
The Customs boss also revealed that the border drill had also curbed the diversion of petroleum products from Nigeria to neighbouring countries.
“Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) records show a 30 percent drop in fuel consumption, which means we had been subsidising fuel for neighbouring countries.
“In the area of security, the ongoing exercise has recorded a great number of seizures and arrests that would have had grave security consequences,” he said.
Ali also noted that the border closure has provided a unique platform for various agencies to operate jointly.
MM/GIK/APA