30 fresh officers of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) have completed and graduated from the four-month intensive secondment programme with Cotecna Destination Inspection Limited (CDIL), raising the tally to 84 officers who have completed the internship program series at the end of the second batch.
30 fresh officers of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) have completed and graduated from the four-month intensive secondment programme with Cotecna Destination Inspection Limited (CDIL), raising the tally to 84 officers who have completed the internship program series at the end of the second batch.
The practical oriented program which was a follow-up to various classroom and theory sessions for customs officers was designed to expose them to practical and hands-on experiential learning especially on the key areas of Destination Inspection which include image and risk analysis, maintenance, scanning operations, valuation and classification.
Speaking at the graduation and certificate presentation ceremony in Apapa, Lagos, Comptroller General of Customs (CGC) who was represented by Comptroller Mamman Bah, stated that Nigeria Customs recognized training and capacity development as a crucial factor for modern day customs service, and the DI scheme. As such, both the officers’ classroom sessions and secondment programs are a great step towards the right direction in line with the transition program from the service providers to customs.
“The graduating officers are privileged to have undergone coaching, training, experiential learning and strict monthly appraisals and have been fully empowered to compete with their contemporaries globally in driving the processes of 21st century custom services. During this second batch, 17 officers have undergone the program in Lagos while 13 others did so in Abuja.” he added.
Comptroller Bah noted that organizations that desire world class results require robust continuous training with the standard equipment, right environment and vital resources. The Customs service is committed to raising the bar of practice and steadfast in ensuring adequate training and development for officers to prepare them for smooth operations at the ports and if training is successfully concluded, it would empower customs to fully function to speed.
He added that, “Nigeria Customs see continuous learning as key area of improvement of service. There has been several training for over 2000 officers in various aspects. The training offered by Cotecna to customs is impressive with structure and equipment, and officers have acquired relevant skills.
In his own remarks, Deputy Managing Director of Cotecna, Mr. Ernest Woka congratulated the officers for their dutifulness and commitment to learning. He said the training has been very practical and robust and gave opportunities for officers to acquire skills, interact with equipment and experts.
Mr Woka said, “The training has covered important areas key for modern customs service and the training is equivalent to what is available internationally. Cotecna has provided training equivalent to the one overseas without the rigour of going over, saving costs and providing easy access.”
“Officers use Cotecna working tools under staff supervision with constant appraisals and assessment. The training is designed to address specific needs on key areas and it’s a global training planned in a coordinated fashion. The quality of officers trained is comparable to anyone in the advanced economies and they are demonstrating mastery and capacity while working at various sites.”he added.
Cotecna Training Manager, Mr Farouk Sa’id said the secondment program is targeted at replacing current staff handling various key DI areas and the aim is to produce officers who can take up the operations successfully with the required dedication and commitment.
He appealed to customs to utilize resources and investments deposited in the skilled and certified officers by engaging them to serve in the appropriate sections, noting that DI contract requires training of 350 officers and 50 stakeholders but Cotecna has performed well and went as far as training about 1700 officers to take over the operations and boost smooth trade facilitation and revenue for government.
Cotecna Destination Inspection Limited (CDIL) Nigeria has a seven-year Build, Operate, Own and Transfer Destination Inspection contract with the Federal Government of Nigeria. Under the contract, Cotecna is in charge of Apapa and Tin Can ports, Abuja and Kano airports, and Jibiya and Banki border posts and accordingly carries out Risk Management and Inspection activities on all goods imported into Nigeria.
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