The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Dr Zainab Ahmed, has commissioned three newly installed mobile scanners to boost operations of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
Dr Ahmed during her address at the event, which was held at APM Terminal, Apapa, Lagos State, on Tuesday, said 120 officers of the NCS have been trained to operate the scanning machines.
The Minister said the scanners will 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, cannot be compared with the scanning of cargoes which is carried out in minutes and with enhanced capacity to detect prohibited imports that are concealed in cargoes.
It was reported that the scanning machines were installed at Apapa port, Tin Can Island Port and Onne Port.
She said; “The commissioning of these three non-intrusive scanners is in line with efforts to expedite Customs operations and achieve its mandate of ease of doing business, trade facilitation and preventing port congestion.”
“These three scanners will help increase revenue for the government and improve national security. It will also help enhance the remote audit trail of goods within the port system.”
“This process enables more cargoes to be scanned and brings about the desired efficiency and effectiveness in Customs cargoes examinations.’’
“I, 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.”
The Comptroller General of Nigeria Customs Service, Col Hameed Ali, in his remarks, assured that the Service will be fully responsible for the management and operations of this equipment.
He said; “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 trained and 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.”
“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. So we are hereby putting recalcitrant traders on notice. They either change or be ready to face the full consequence of their actions.”