The Controller of the Area 1 Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Comptroller Salamatu Atuluku, has expressed her determination to work with critical stakeholders to improved cargo handling activities at the Port Harcourt International Airport at Omagwa, Rivers State.
The customs chief was at the facility, where she witnessed the continued lull in cargo aircraft landing. She visited her agency’s units at the airport, and called for the need to collaborate to attract more patronage to the airport, which she described as “such a vital gateway to our nation.”
She encouraged the officers and men of customs to uphold the values of service with discipline, and integrity, charging them to remain steadfast, emphasizing that the nation depends on their diligence.
Ms Atuluku also extended her heartfelt gratitude to the esteemed stakeholders, partners, airlines, ground handlers, agents, and operators within the airport, for their cooperation and partnership even as she equally recognized the presence of other sister government agencies at the event, noting that NCS places high value on inter-agency cooperation, because according to her, “no single agency can achieve success in isolation.”
She reminded them that their shared mandate of safeguarding the nation, promoting trade, and ensuring safety at the airport required synergy, mutual respect, and joint responsibility, promising to deepen collaboration with all of them.
“As we move forward, let us strengthen the spirit of teamwork that binds us. With mutual trust, transparency, and innovation, there is no doubt that we can collectively surmount challenges and set new benchmarks of success,” she emphasized.
In his message, the Deputy Comptroller in charge of the airport unit of the NCS, Mr Ntuen, who is retiring soon, said, “I will carry the banner of Nigeria Customs Service anywhere I go because it has made me fulfilled as a person.”
On his part, the Port Harcourt International Airport Manager, Mrs Ifesinachi Ezike, represented by the Airport Chief of Security (ACoS), Mr Chiaka S Ukaegbu, decried the low patronage of the facility by cargo airlines.