The Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Mr Bashir Adwale-Adeniyi, has said that the newly introduced Automated Overtime Cargo Clearance System initiative was designed to deliver an efficient, transparent, and technology-driven process for managing overtime cargo clearance and disposal.
The Customs CG made this remark on Friday while sensitising stakeholders in Zones B and D to the newly introduced Automated Overtime Cargo Clearance and Disposal System.
The sensitisation, held at the Customs Training College, Goron Dutse, Kano, was themed ‘Driving Transparency, Efficiency and Accountability in Cargo Clearance’.
Adewale-Adeniyi, represented by the Controller in charge of Post Clearance Audit Zone B, Mrs Deborah Adeyemi, said the system would address congestion, paperwork, bottlenecks, abandoned cargo and delays in clearance processes that had slowed economic activity.
“This initiative marks a turning point in our operations.
“With the Automated Overtime Cargo Clearance and Disposal System, we are demonstrating that Customs can be both a facilitator of trade and a guarantor of integrity,” the CGC said.
Adewale-Adeniyi explained that the platform would enable the stakeholders, including consignees, customs brokers, terminal operators, and customs officers, to apply, track and receive approvals online without physical contact.
He said the system was backed by the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023, which provides the legal framework for electronic processes, overtime cargo timelines and disposal of consignments after 120 days, with provisions for condemnation, auction or other disposal methods.
Adewale-Adeniyi listed the benefits to include transparency through time-stamped actions, accountability through strict timelines, efficiency in terminal operations and data integrity with all documents integrated on Customs servers.
He urged the stakeholders across the commands in Kano/Jigawa, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Niger and Kogi to familiarise themselves with the process, train their teams and constructively engage with Customs officers for effective implementation.
“The Nigeria Customs Service is not merely automating a process; we are transforming a culture. “Delay, opacity and congestion are being replaced with efficiency, transparency and accountability,” the CGC said.
In his remarks, the Customs Area Controller, Kano/Jigawa Command, Mr Dalhatu Abubakar, assured the stakeholders that the command was committed to eliminating overtime cargo.
“As terminal operators, with proper sensitisation and capacity building, we have no reason to admit cargo as overtime in Kano. I urge you to take this opportunity seriously to achieve that,” he said.
Also speaking, Mr A.A. Abdulkadir, Chief Superintendent of Customs, Headquarters, explained that the system was not new but a digital transformation of the manual overtime cargo clearance process, which comes with added simplicity and efficiency.
The Chairman, Clearing Agents Association, Kano, Alhaji Hafiz Rilwan, on behalf of the stakeholders, commended the CGC for the initiative and pledged to support its implementation through wider sensitisation.
