By Innocent Orok
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is one of the country’s strategic agency that is saddled with the functions of implementation of government fiscal policies especially on international trade, investments, imports , exports, excise, duties, taxes, and other policies that stimulates the Economic growth and development of Nigeria.
The NCS has mainly a tripod functions of Revenue generation, suppression of smuggling and Trade facilitation. These functions encompasses both local and international frontiers and the NCS despite the challenges which is not limited to only the Service has of recent stands out as an agency with the tenets to reposition the country inline with the “Renewed Hope” agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration.
The appointment of Bashir Adewale Adeniyi MFR as the Comptroller General of the Service in June 2023, further added confidence and professional administrative prowess to the Service. To this end, CGC Adeniyi on assumption of office in 2023 brought in a new dimension and professional touch to the Service which has been commended by all, especially stakeholders.
The CGC Adewale Adeniyi’s regime also brought in professional placement of Officers in their rightful capacity to deliver his mandate and vision for the new NCS.
Among such officers to man strategic positions was Deputy Comptroller Kayode Kolade, now Comptroller. Before the coming of CGC Adewale Adeniyi, Comptroller Kayode Kolade has been holding sway as the Controller Federal Operations Unit ,Zone ‘.C’.
Comptroller Kayode Kolade is a well known anti- smuggling czar , having work in most Commands and formations of the Service across the Country. It was due to his performance pedigree and patriotic zeal to deliver and tame smuggling activities, that he was posted as Deputy Comptroller to be in charge of one of the strongest anti- smuggling Unit of the Service, FOU, Zone C, with headquarters in Owerri, Imo State.
The FOU, Zone C oversees the suppression of smuggling and naferious trade malpractices in the South East and South South zones of Nigeria comprising of Imo , Abia, Anambra, Enugu and Ebonyi States. Others are Rivers, Edo, Bayelsa, Delta, Akwa Ibom and Cross River States, all in the South South zone of Nigeria.
Since the mantle of this tough, but deliverable task fell on Comptroller Kayode Kolade’s shoulder , he has not fail and still wagging proactively in carrying out the mandated functions of the the NCS.
The track record of Comptroller Kayode Kolade is unblemish as the fact and figures of his performance speaks for itself.
In 2023, the FOU Zone ‘C’ under the leadership of Comptroller Kayode Kolade was able to tame smuggling activities in the zone which amounted to a total seizure of N5, 351,826, 390. The Unit in 2023 also, through intervention and scrutinizing of import documents recoverd a total of N152,492, 214, by raising ” Demand Notices” to the government coffers, making a cummulative of N5, 504, 318, 604.
The summary of the FOU Zone ‘C’ scorecard in 2023 shows that five sacks of Pangolin scales , weighing 413.1Kg valued at N523,356,390 was seized.
A total of 1, 813 bags of foreign parboiled rice of 50Kg each and 390 cartons of Basmati rice valued at N105, 105,000 and 815 sacks of Cannabis Satisva (Indian Hemp) weighing 17,950Kg and 2,935 parcels of 1Kg each, weighing 2,935Kg totalling 20, 885Kg worth N1, 670, 800,000 was also seized .
Others are 31 Cartons of DSP/ CMC Cough syrup with Codeine, containing 3,600 bottles, N21, 600,000, 15 Units of three Armored Vehicles worth N2,275, 000,000, Nine sacks of 50Kg Explosive materials/super power90 substance/ cables worth N12,990,000 and 1,692 jumbo bakes and 44savks of used shoes at N423,000,000 and N4, 400,000.
On unregistered/ expired medicaments, a total of 914 cartons of expired / various brand of tramadol valued
N206,350,000.00, 6,277 pieces of used pneumatic tyres worth N94,005,000, 300 cartons of foreign spaghetti N3,600,000, 335 cartons of tomatoes paste N17,220,000 and 32 Jerrycans of 25 litres each of PMS N200,000 were also intercepted in the year 2023.
It is on record and inline with the CGC Adewale Adeniyi’s agenda of revenue generation, Anti-smuggling and trade facilitation, the Comptroller Kayode Kolade’s regime at the Zone C, is living up to expectations and he has promised to continually discharge the mandate of the Service for the betterment of the Nigerian people, as championed by CGC Adewale Adeniyi MFR.
