Nigeria Customs To Extend Operations Beyond Seme Border — Comptroller

The new Comptroller of the Seme Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service, Timi Bomodi, has said that the service, under his supervision, will soon extend its operations into the Benin Republic and vice versa.

Naija News understands that Bomodi said this on Monday, September 18, when he took over from Dera Nnadi as the new Area Comptroller of the command.

His comment is coming days after a bilateral agreement between the Nigeria Customs Service and the Republic of Benin Customs Administration.

According to Bomodi, the customs administration of both countries would start generating revenues in trillions of dollars once the implementation begins.

“If what was proposed would come into fruition, it means that the functions of NCS is going to extend beyond the borders and it is going right into the corridor of Benin Republic, vis-a-vis the operations of Benin Customs would also extend beyond its borders right into our ports.

“It is going to be a symbiotic relationship, and we cannot expect anything less than what we give, we expect excellence on both sides of the divide, and hopefully, it would be transformative,” the Customs Comptroller said.

Naija News understands that a week ago, Nigeria Customs said it had concluded plans to partner with the Republic of Benin Customs Administration so as to enhance cross-border trade between the two West African nations.

Reflecting on the new development, Bomodi said yesterday that once the trade was enhanced, the capacity to generate more revenue would also be enhanced.

“Once people can move freely, goods can move freely, if services can move freely in this corridor, we are talking about the African Continental Free Trade Agreement and what this entails is generating revenue in trillions of dollars, it is totally transformative for Africa, and we need to trade more along this corridor.

“We cannot trade more if our processes and systems are not properly aligned, and thinking of both sides of the divide must be properly synchronised,” the PUNCH quoted Bomodi as saying.

He also said that with the newly signed agreement between the Benin Republic and Nigeria, the issue of multiple security checkpoints along the Badagry Expressway would soon be eliminated.