By Bon Peters
The Nigeria Customs Service, Federal Operations Unit FOU, Zone “C” Owerri, says it has decorated 46 newly promoted officers in the zone even as it also recorded seizures worth five billion, three hundred and fifty-one million, eight hundred and twenty six thousand, three hundred and ninety Naira (N5,351,826,390.00) only in total Duty Paid Value (DPV) in the 2023 fiscal year.
This was contained in a press release made available to our correspondent by the Zone’s public Relations Officer, Chief Superintendent of Customs (CSC) Jerry Attah Wednesday.
The breakdown of the promotion our correspondent reports shows that Three officers were promoted from the rank of Chief Superintendent of Customs (CSC) to the rank of Assistant Comptroller (AC); Five officers from Superintendent of Customs (SC) to Chief Superintendent of Customs (CSC) and Three officers from the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Customs (DSC) to SC.
Also, Two officers from Assistant Superintendent of Customs I (ASC I) to DSC; Six from ASCII to ASC I; Seventeen from IC to ASCII ; Eight from Assistant Inspector of Customs (AIC) to IC and one person from Customs Area I (CA I) to AIC.
Among those promoted were the Zone’s Public Relations Officer, Jerry Attah, who was promoted from Superintendent of Customs (SC) to Chief Superintendent of Customs (CSC).
The Zone “C” Comptroller, Kayode Kolade, while decorating the promoted officers, on Wednesday, described the seizures as a result of hard-work, resilience, dedication to duty and commitment of his men and officers.
Some of the items seized, he said, were pangolin scales, foreign parboiled rice, cannabis sativa (AKA Indian hemp), fake pharmaceutical products, tramadol, used vehicles, used tyres, used clothing and explosive raw materials among others.
Continuing, Kolade stated that as a result of the interventions of his officers in checkmating the activities of fraudulent agents at the seaports, lots of revenues, hitherto lost, have been recovered to the tune of One Hundred and Fifty Two Million, Four Hundred and Ninety-Two Thousand, Two Hundred and Fourteen Naira (N152,492,214.00) only even as he charged the promoted officers to live above board and continue to justify the confidence reposed in them by the Service.
While thanking the Comptroller-General, Wale Adeniyi MFR for his continued support and fatherly disposition which he attributed to the promotion of officers and eased up the activities of officers he said, “Let me use this opportunity to appreciate the Comptroller-General of Customs, Wale Adeniyi MFR and his management team through the Board of the NCS for this privilege and promise our determination and zeal to perform even more as we wear our new ranks.”
He noted that, “New rank comes with new and more responsibility and we must deliver on our mandate.”
“One thing that is constant in life is change” Kolade said
He reiterated that the recent promotion would bring changes in the roster and that officers and men of the Service must justify their relevance on duty assignments.
He therefore stressed the need for improved performance this year,” to meet the target of N5.7 trillion set by the Service and I believe we can do it.”