By Ajibola Adedoye
Stakeholders in the maritime industry have appreciated the Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, for his exemplary leadership since his assumption of office at the NCS Headquarters, FCT, Abuja.
The encomium were given on Thursday, February 13, 2025 at Lagos Airport Hotel in Ikeja, during the “Iconic Maritime Personality of the Year 2024” award organized by the Maritime Journalists Associations.
In his remark, the Zonal Coordinator Zone A, Assistant Comptroller-General Of Customs (ACG) Charles Orbih who noted that the CGC’s visionary leadership has elevated the NCS to an unparallel and unprecedented heights of efficiency and professionalism, hence “the conferment of this golden award of Iconic Maritime Personality of the Year 2024 on the CGC reflects the remarkable transformation that has occurred within the Service under his stewardship”.
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According to ACG Orbih: “The modernization of the Nigeria Customs procedure strengthening of risk management system and optimization of revenue collection processes have yielded unprecedented results. In the past one year, we have exceeded our revenue collections in a very remarkable way, our target was 5.079 trillion but we exceeded it and we collected 6.1 trillion contributing significantly to the federal government fiscal objectives.
“Under his leadership the Service has foster relationships with other government agencies, international organizations and the private sector including the maritime industry. This strategic alliance has improved intelligence sharing leading to effective joint operation in combating smuggling and other forms of Customs offences. The relationship has also facilitated trade, reduce clearance time and enhance compliance level among stakeholders. The deployment of cutting edge technology has revolutionalize our operation advance scanning system and digitalize solutions have significantly improve our cargo examination processes and risk management capabilities. These innovations have reduced cargo dwelling time and improve ease of doing business at our various ports.
“Your leadership excellence has inspired a generation of Customs officers who can now approach their duties with new vigour and commitment. The emphasis on continuous training and capacity building have equipped our officers with the knowledge and skills needed to meet contemporary customs challenges, the result is a more competent and confident workforce that consistently deliver on his mandate. The international recognition garnered by the Nigeria Customs under your leadership speaks voulmes, from the World Customs Organization to regional bodies; your innovative approaches to Customs administration have become reference point for best practices. Your diplomatic acumen has strengthened our international partnership and position Nigeria as a key player in global trade facilitation” he stressed.
In his remarks, Chief Olayiwola Shittu , former President, Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANCLA) who noted that since the inception of maritime media and the Nigeria Customs Service and maritime sector, this is the first time that various media groups covering the sector gather together, agreed, deliberated and assessed all the parastatals and their performances and collectively agreed to honour Bashir Adewale Adeniyi as the Iconic Maritime Personality of the Year 2024.
“I remember when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was campaigning and mentioning renewed hope, he knew that for him to actually achieve that reform and deliver his electoral promises, he has to rely on agencies and ministries and along the line, he realized that Customs is one of the key agencies he must rely on to achieve his objectives and in that realization, he also knew that for Customs to deliver.
“The President appointed no other person than Bashir Adewale Adeniyi as the CGC. He didn’t come out of the blues; he has facilitates trade and protects our boarders. When he resumed office in 2023, we all knew the historical revenue he generated, that was 3.2 trillion and we were clapping thinking that they have reached their heights but only in 2024, we all know what happened above 6 trillion. Then you talk of seizures, it’s not even about the revenue, it’s about the security of the nation, it’s about protecting the nationality of the country from harmful products, the quantum of seizures the arms and ammunition, fake drugs, hard drugs I the process of protecting the society, so it is based on all this that we are celebrating an icon. He is genuinely an icon because he has proved President Bola Ahmed Tinubu right by that singular decision to appoint him to head Nigeria Customs Service” he stated.
Bigwig in the maritime sector that graced the occasion are Dr. Eugene Nweke of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Otunba Frank Ogunojemite, the president of the Africa Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria (APFFLON), Chief Akeem Olanrewaju, the chairman of the Customs Consultative Council among others.
Various associations that makes up Maritime Journalists Association includes the Maritime Reporters Association of Nigeria (MARAN), League of Maritime Editors (LOME), Association of Maritime Journalists of Nigeria (AMJON), Maritime Journalists Association of Nigeria (MAJAN), Shipping Correspondents Association of Nigeria (SCAN), Online Maritime Media Association of Nigeria (OMMAN) and Congress of Nigerian Maritime Media Practitioners (CONMMEP), as well as those who do not belong to any association.
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