By Our Reporter
Until DC. Frank Okechukwu Onyeka, Area Controller, Tin can Island Command of the Nigerian Customs service, NCS, and 38 others, including 67 Deputy Comptrollers were decorated with their new ranks at the Customs Headquarters, Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, on Wednesday, January 23, 2025, there was high expectation for it in several quarters.
Compt. Onyeka, who had exhibited traits of good Leadership at Tin can Island Command as acting Area Controller, according to a senior officer had demonstrated ‘’the basic qualities of a servant, visionary and transformative Leader’’ that officers and stakeholders had admired him and had looked forward for his decoration with his substantive Comptroller’s rank to make the difference.
The Customs Area Controller who was said to have demonstrated such good Leadership qualities between Dec.21, 2024 and now, may have sent a message to officers and men of the Command, importers with the agents and other stakeholders that he has come’ ’to facilitate their efforts and commitments to achieve the Command’s 2025, revenue target, improve Trade Facilitation, and intensify the Command’s anti-smuggling efforts.
He was said to have also sent a message to the unrepentant fraudulent importers with their agents who would want to exit their cargoes from the port without proper examinations that it is no longer going to business as usual.
The Tin can Island Command, Area Controller, a source had said mayhave threaded softly as acting Comptroller, to learn from the ropes and to avoid giving room to the officers, importers with their agents and other industry stakeholders to read his mindset, ’’ through his behaviour, aspirations, information management processes, communication and sustainable commitment to policies andto predict him.
Maritime analysts had said that for the 33 days or thereabout that he had operated with the DC’s rank at the Tin can Island Command, policing the affairs of the Command overseeing the Lagos port and being a good student of Peter Drucker, described as a management expert who believes that ‘’the purpose of Leadership involves more than just getting a job done but involves getting the job done in a certain way to achieve results’’, he had continued to achieve results.
Beaming with smiles, Compt.Onyeka and the 38 other DCs, who were decorated with the Comptroller’s rank by the Customs Comptroller General and his Management Team, were said to have promised’’ to put in their best to ensure that the CGC. achieves his Presidential mandate of improved revenue collection, trade facilitation and anti-smuggling efforts’’.
The no nonsense Customs Comptroller General, who could not hide his feelings was said to have stressed’’ the importance of vision and enduring commitment to a regime of improved service delivery’’, during the decoration of the newly promoted Comptrollers and DCs.
The message was very clear that they must propagate the values of the service and also put at the back of their mind that as Comptrollers, either deployed to a Command or holding another strategic position at the Zonal or Customs Headquarters, as Comptrollers, as they will be involved in decision making and implementation of government fiscal policies.
Charles Orbih, an Assistant Comptroller General of Customs, ACG, and Coordinator, Lagos Zonal Office, who was said to have given the opportunity to speak at the high- profile event at the Customs Headquarters may have spoken the mind of the Comptroller General when he urged the newly promoted Comptrollers ‘’to prioritise revenue collection, trade facilitation and anti-smuggling efforts’’.
He did not stop there. He was said to have reminded the new Customs Comptrollers to the three transformative pillars of the service: consolidation of automation Processes, enhancement of digital infrastructure and collaboration with stakeholders and sister security agencies to improve the country’s trade facilitation drive.
The NCS, Lagos Zonal office, Coordinator was said to have also enjoined the new Customs Comptrollers who had been decorated with their new ranks, to note that ‘’the promotions carried the weight of great responsibilities , aligning with the core values of the service, integrity and Professionalism’’. ,
Acting Comptroller Onyeka, who was among the 39 Deputy Comptrollers who were said to have the scaled the hurdle to make it to the final list of those promoted to be decorated with the enviable rank of Comptroller may have seen his elevation as a call for duty and a very arduous task that requires personal discipline, dedication, and professionalism that requires a senior officer like him who is holding a strategic position to adhere to the ethics of the job.
He was said to have also seen it as an opportunity to keep to the Comptroller General ‘s tripod policy thrusts of ‘’Consolidation, collaboration and innovation’’, he, which as a DC, overseeing the Apport port exit gate had implemented at a micro level, to assist, Compt. Babatunde Olomu, who incidentally was the CGC, Comptroller of the year 2024, in maximizing the Apapa Command revenue collection for the Federal Government by blocking all areas of revenue Leakage at the exit gate in 2024.
The newly elevated Customs Comptrollers may have drawn a lesson from what the Comptroller General, had told the 2024, set of Comptrollers who were decorated with their new rank to be mindful of their responsibilities as Management level officers, and’’ to provide mentorship to the younger generation of officers to help them become better professionals as they advance in their careers.
It was not surprising why the Tin can Island Command new Area Controller did not find it much difficulty in settling down to do his job of policing the Tincan Island port and directing the affairs of the Command through the buy in approach of officers and men of the Command which is yielding the desired results in terms of improved revenue collection, trade facilitation and anti-smuggling efforts.
Given that he had made’’ compliance’’ his watch word as obtained at the Apapa Command, may have forced the officers, importers with their agents to sit up to ensure that the right thing is done.
This is evident as no Container that had exited the Tincan Island port over the last three weeks had been diverted to the Federal Operations Unit, Zone A, Ikeja, for another examination due to the tight secures that had put in place to checkmate the exit of cargoes at the port.
The decoration of the newly promoted Comptrollers, at the Customs Headquarters by the Comptroller General and his Management Team, may have opened the door way for the Coordinators at the Zonal offices across the country and the Area Controllers at the Command Level to decorate the newly promoted Deputy Comptrollers, Assistant Comptrollers, Chief Superintendent of Customs and other officers with their new ranks.
It was an opportunity for Compt. Onyeka, the opportunity to perform his first official assignment at the Tin can Island Command to decorate newly promoted senior and junior officers but he was said to have given the DC. Samuel Aribiyi, overseeing the Command’s Administrative duties to do so on his behalf as he was said to be engaged in other official assignments. It could not be ascertained whether it is within the Command premises or undergoing Training alongside other newly promoted Comptrollers at the Customs Training College, Gwagwalada, FCT.
The Customs comptroller who is not ready to take any excuse as an answer from any officer of the Command for non-performance was said to have charged them ‘’to be alive to their duties by keeping to the policy thrusts of the Comptroller General. He has a word of advice for those who were not promoted not allow it to tell on their jobs but to work harder to scale hurdle of the next promotion exercise coming up this 2025.
DC.Ariyibi, who was said to have presided over the decoration of the newly promoted officers with their new ranks at the Tin can Island Command in the absence of the substantive Area Comptroller, was said to have urged the officers ‘’to give their best’’ to ensure that the Command’s revenue target will be met and even surpassed that would make the Area Controller happy to attend to their needs on requests.
Appealing to the officers to ensure that the Command revenue target is met on a daily, weekly and monthly basis and even surpassed, he had said that it is the way to justify their stay at the Command.
The Customs Comptroller while speaking to the newly promoted senior and junior officers attached to the Command may have alluded to the good job of past Area Comptrollers of the Command in the Areas of revenue generation and Trade Facilitation, particular, Compt. Dera Nnnadi, who had been elevated to the Management cadre of the service as an ACG.
ACG Nnadi, who had competed with the Apapa Command Area Comptroller whose Command handles over 60% of the country’s Cargo imports had taken the Command revenue generation to the trillion-naira level in 2024.
The Tin can Island Area Command who officers and stakeholders admires because of his simplicity and who they had said ‘’thinks and dreams about the Command revenue generation on a daily basis would want the officers ‘’ to continue to play their part’’ to sustain the trillion naira nark that had been set by Acting ACG. Nnadi in his last posting to the Command as Comptroller.
Given the N12 trillion revenue target that had been set by the Joint National Assembly Committee on Finance for the service, is an indication that officers and men of the Command must double their efforts this time around as its revenue target for 2025, would be doubled compared to the2024, figure when the service proposed revenue target was set at N5.1 trillion.
