Cotecna Trains 1,731 Customs Officers In 6 Years

Cotecna Destination Inspection; one of the three destination inspection agents that were engaged by governemntb to patrtyake in cargo clearance said on Monday that in fulfilment of its contractual obligation, it had trained 1,731 officers of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) since 2006.
The Corporate Relations Manager of the firm, Malam Aminu Mohammedsaisd  in Lagos that the firm had trained far and above the 350 customs officers approved in the contract.

Cotecna Destination Inspection; one of the three destination inspection agents that were engaged by governemntb to patrtyake in cargo clearance said on Monday that in fulfilment of its contractual obligation, it had trained 1,731 officers of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) since 2006.
The Corporate Relations Manager of the firm, Malam Aminu Mohammedsaisd  in Lagos that the firm had trained far and above the 350 customs officers approved in the contract.
Mohammed said the firm had developed joint training programmes with other destination inspection service providers, under which it jointly trained 1,357 customs officers.
“Based on what we signed, we have met all our contractual obligations and delivered all scanning equipment at the site as required.
“Also, in terms of preparing the customs, we have done a number of training, far above what the contract specified,” he said.
Mohammed said that the customs officers were trained in image analysis; scanner operations and maintenance; computerised risk management, scanning process and valuation; and classification to mention a few.
He also said that 162 customs officers were presently on attachment with the firm.
The manager said that all these were in preparation for the firm’s handing over in 2013 when its contract would have expired.
“The trainings are all in a bid to modernise the Nigeria Customs Service and fulfill objectives such as trade facilitation, revenue protection and security enhancement.
“Other objectives are capacity building and enhancement of professionalism, which is meant to encourage inflow of foreign investments and build confidence of local investors,” Mohammed said.
He said that as at the end of August 2012, the firm had scanned 444,230 cargoes which included Apapa and Tin Can Island seaports; Abuja and Kano Airports as well as Jibiya, Katsina State; and Banki in Borno.
The Manager said the firm had installed three types of scanners in Nigeria, all with high penetration level.