By Elizabeth Chukwuma
Muhammed Uba Garba, Comptroller , Seme Command , is a happy man. Muhammed source of happiness was the fact that the Command alone , had produced three , out of the 30 Deputy Comptrollers that were promoted to Comptrollers in the recently released Customs promotion List. The Seme Customs Comptroller joy knows no bounds as he was said to have left Seme Border Community on Monday , November 24, 2019, in order, in order to participate in the decoration of the newly promoted Comptrollers at the Zonal office by Kaycee Ekezie, an Assistant Comptroller General in-charge of Customs Lagos, Zonal Command.
Many believe the three Deputy Comptrollers from the Command: Jibo. B.M, Ndarni.JD and Bello.A, may have made it to the Comptroller’s rank because of the encouragement given to them to always see themselves as Comptrollers and therefore should be ready to take responsibility, in his absence on official assignment outside the Border Community.
The Value News learnt that on several occasions he has given opportunity to one or two of the Deputy Comptrollers, particular, Ndarani, who was at at one time the 2’IC, to the Comptroller, in his Capacity , as the then DC, o Administration of the Command, and Jibo this time around, to act for him whenever he was away either on leave or on official engagement at Abuja or outside the country. This may have prepared the mind of the officers to see themselves as Comptrollers and to work towards achieving it.
Last Monday, the three new Comptrollers , were together in Ndarni’s office which was Opposite the Comptroller’s office. They may not have participated fully in receiving the four ministers and Babagana Munguno, a retired Major General and national Security Adviser, NSA, who were at the Border to Consult and assess the BorDerills.
They had left the Area Comptroller to attend to the August visitors alone as they were together gisting and cracking jokes about their new rank. One of the Comptrollers was said to have cracked a joke when their former boss entered the Ndarni office and made a remark. Ndarni was said to have responded , ‘’ Sir, your shoes are took big to wear.
Eyewitness account disclosed that Muhammed could not hide his feelings as three of his officers were decorated as Comptrollers as he posed with each of them for Group photographs. There are indications that the Command has planned a befitting send –off for the outgoing new Comptrollers because of their contribution to the enhanced revenue collection of the Command in the last one year as all areas of revenue leak in the past were blocked.
The new Comptrollers, while still wearing the rank of Deputy Comptrollers and as Heads of Units, which qualifies them to be members of the Command Management Team were said to said to have a contributed meaningfully to the Seme Customs Comptroller insistence on enforcing the International Law on transit cargoes b and the Economic Community of West African States, Trade Liberalisation Scheme,ETL. The people had tried to break into the ranks of the customs and even resorted to blackmail to ensure that Muhammed would not go ahead with the enforcement of the International Law on Transit cargoes but Jibo and the other Deputy Comptroller, who now Comptrollers , were said to have stood behind the Area Comptroller to ensure the plan worked out.
At present all Nigeria bound transit Containerised cargoes by the receiving country , particular, Republic of Benin, are escorted to the to the Joint Border where it is handed over to the N Nigerian Customs Personnel at the Border before been trans loaded into the truck.
This may have informed why the Seme Customs boss was everywhere at the Zonal Headquarters when the three Comptrollers produced by the Command were being decorated because of their good working relationship over the last one year. ‘’They may have gone but they would never be missed’’ an officer remarked.
While Comptroller Muhammed is celebrating the Comptrollers and other senior officers promoted from Seme Command, Olusemire, Kayode , his Counterpart at FOU, Zone C, join the ACG , in-charge of NCS, Zone C, to decorate DC, Ahmadu Shuaibu. It was a happy moment for Shuaibu, who thanked the Customs Comptroller for all the support given to him to excel among his contemporaries.
