The ICT mast is expected to serve the Zone A area of the service which comprises all customs areas and formations in the South West geo political zone of the country.
A statement by the Public Relations Officer of Apapa Area 1 of the command, Mr. Emma Ekpa, quoted the Customs Area Controller, Mr. Charles Edike, as saying the installation was meant to facilitate legitimate trade without compromising national security.
It is also expected to enhance the operational interface between the customs and other government organisations as well as the private sector stakeholders.
Already, the Nigerian Shippers Council is said to be connected to the system.
According to the statement, private sector stakeholders involved in the customs clearance procedure such as the commercial banks and the Direct Trader Input café operators involved in the customs duty collection and documentation processing will also be connected.
Edike said, “Our ICT centre is going to complement the functions of the Customs Ruling Centre based in our Abuja headquarters, and will serve as a base for training and retraining of officers and stakeholders.
“It will also replicate at the area command level some of the modern techniques which the customs operations officers have learnt at the Customs Command and Staff College, Gwagalada. Our Controller General is keen on stamping out ignorance in the cycle of customs officers and stakeholders in the national interest.
“Over 50 maritime journalists have been trained at the ICT Centre as pioneer trainees to give them firsthand knowledge about the information they are to disseminate.’’
The ICT facility is also expected to further boost the output of the command in the issuance of the Pre Arrival Assessment Report to clearing agents and importers after lodging of declarations.
http://www.punchng.com/business/technology/customs-install-ict-mast-at-apapa-command/
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