The Customs Area Controller (CAC) of the Western Marine Command, Nigeria Customs Service, Comptroller Patrick Ntadi, has pledged his readiness to attend the 2025 edition of the MARAN Annual Maritime Lecture (MAMAL), the flagship event of the Maritime Reporters’ Association of Nigeria (MARAN).
Scheduled for August 27, 2025, at the Four Points by Sheraton Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, this year’s lecture will focus on factors influencing the rising cost of goods in the country—a topic Comptroller Ntadi described as both “germane and critical.”
Speaking during a courtesy visit by MARAN’s Executive Council on Monday, August 4, 2025, Comptroller Ntadi affirmed his support for the event and commended the association’s efforts in shaping discourse on maritime industry challenges.
Earlier, the Customs chief took the MARAN executives on a tour of the command, showcasing visible changes achieved in just over two months of his assumption of office. The facelift includes a freshly painted fence and administrative building, the construction of a new signpost at the command’s entrance, and the clearing of dilapidated shanties that once posed security risks.
“The presence of the shanties and activities of suspicious elements milling around posed a serious security threat. We gave them a month’s quit notice before clearing the area,” Ntadi explained.
The command’s jetties are also undergoing renovation, with construction crews working round the clock to deliver the project. In addition, a befitting office complex is being built under the leadership of the Comptroller General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, with Ntadi expressing optimism about its completion before year-end.
In the area of anti-smuggling, the CAC reported that the command recently intercepted 503 bags of rice and arrested six boats used for their transportation along the Badagry axis.
MARAN President, Mr. Godfrey Bivbere, assured Comptroller Ntadi of the association’s readiness to support the command in achieving its operational mandate. “MARAN is committed to fostering a mutually beneficial relationship with the command to enable it deliver on its mandate,” he stated.
