JULIET ALOHAN: The acting comptroller-general (CGC) of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Dr John Atte, has ordered the customs area comptrollers to ensure an increase in weekly average revenue from the current N13 billion to N35 billion.
If this target is achieved, the service will generate no less than N1.6 trillion annually.
Atte, from Bayelsa State, took over the leadership of the NCS on Tuesday this week, following the voluntary retirement of the former CGC, Abdulahi Dikko, after serving for six years as the CGC.
Atte was until now the deputy comptroller general (DCG) in charge of Finance Administration and Technical Service (FATS). Atte’s directive on revenue collection was part of decisions taken during a strategy session of the customs management and customs area comptrollers in Abuja, yesterday.
The session presided over by him was convened to discuss various areas of revenue leakages and put in place measures to plug them. To this end, the acting CGC directed the immediate setting up of anti-corruption seats in all area commands to monitor officers’ conducts and report to the office accordingly. With regard to anti-smuggling activities, while the Federal Operations Units (FOUs) were directed to intensify their border patrols to bring smugglers to book, Atte ordered an immediate review of operational procedures to give maximum effect to the ban on all hinterland patrols in the country.
Similarly, “All task forces under any name or guise operating in all seaports, airports, and land borders were disbanded with immediate effect. Officers serving in these adhoc units were to be withdrawn and redeployed immediately,” a statement by the public relations officers of Customs, Wale Adeniyi, said yesterday.
The meeting further directed area comptrollers to take full control of their areas even as the acting CGC stressed that they will be held responsible for staff conduct and discipline in their jurisdictions.
