Jonathan assures of reforms in Customs Service

Posted by admin Latest Politics Saturday, February 19th, 2011

President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday said his administration was fully committed to the implementation of reforms that would ensure that the operations of the Nigerian Customs Service conformed with global best practices.

At a meeting with the Secretary-General of the World Customs Organisation, Mr. Kunio Mikuriya, the President said that the Federal Government fully appreciated the critical role which an efficient customs service could play in national economic development.

Jonathan said that his administration would continue to give the leadership of the NCS all the political support it required to successfully reposition the service to meet globally acceptable standards of operation.

“Customs services are critical to the economic development of nations and are also an essential part of trade relations among countries. Your efforts to keep everybody on the same page as far as customs services are concerned are most helpful and we really appreciate your coming to interact with the leadership of our customs service,” he said. He added that the FG would welcome all the support the WCO could give the NCS to ensure that it was successfully reformed and modernised to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

The President told Mikuriya that he would always hold the customs service dear to his heart because his first job in life was with the preventive arm of the NCS, adding that his stint with the service had given him a working knowledge of customs operations, which he still finds useful.

Mikuriya applauded Jonathan’s support for the reformation and modernisation of Nigeria’s customs operations.

He particularly lauded the President’s support for the establishment of a Customs Staff College, noting that other countries in Africa would benefit from training in the college when it became fully operational.

Mikuriya informed Jonathan that he had, in the course of his visit to Nigeria, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Economic Community of West African States.

-Punchwp_posts