The outgoing Customs Area Comptroller of Apapa Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Mr Babatunde Olomu, has said his administration laid a solid foundation for sustained revenue consolidation at the command.
Speaking at the handover ceremony, Mr Olomu noted that the command’s achievements resulted from consistent efforts and deliberate planning, noting that the team remained focused, improved revenue collection hourly, daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly to achieve what he described as “outstanding accomplishments.”
He added that the spirit of teamwork among his officers was inspired by the policy direction of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, which emphasized collaboration with stakeholders at all levels.
Mr Olomu said he was leaving the Apapa Command with mixed feelings, recalling the moments shared with officers, stakeholders and partners during his tenure. He explained that his period of service was marked by challenges and solutions aimed at strengthening the country, noting that every tenure must eventually come to an end.
He expressed gratitude to Mr Adeniyi for entrusting him with the responsibility of overseeing operations in what he described as the Service’s flagship command.
Reflecting on his assumption of duty on May 2024, Mr Olomu said he took up the role with determination, enjoying the support of officers, men, government agencies, private sector operators, and the media.
“While this speech and time would not permit me to reel out every of our achievement, I am going to summarize them.
“Together as a team, we all confronted odds to excel, and we accomplished in the areas of revenue collection, anti-smuggling, trade facilitation and robust stakeholders’ engagement.
“This team spirit was imbibed in taking a cue from the CGC’s policy direction of working closely with all our stakeholders at various levels.
“We have laid a solid structure for consolidation. Under the guidance of the CGC, I ensured this command can operate optimally on an autopilot mode in revenue and anti-smuggling, stakeholders’ engagement, ICT deployment and all other indices for measurement of customs efficiency,” he stated.
Mr Olomu redeployed from Apapa Customs following his elevation to the rank of Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs (ACG).