Customs partners Borno govt to reestablish cross-border trade in Northeast

Customs partners Borno govt to reestablish cross-border trade in Northeast

Acting Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, has expressed his readiness to improve trade activities in the Northeastern part of Nigeria.
He made this known while receiving the Governor of Borno State, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum, during a courtesy visit to the Customs Headquarters in Abuja, saying that the measure will boost the region’s economy and provide jobs for the people in the state.
Adeniyi, who appreciated the long-time relationship between the Service and Borno State Government in border security and humanitarian services, also affirmed his readiness to support victims of terrorism in the state.
Speaking on enhancing community relations, he said: “Moving forward, we will need your support to engage with members of the border communities in Borno, especially as the insurgency has been degraded. We will build on the good relationship that we have and leverage on it to re-establish a good relationship with Cameroon and, of course, the Southern part of Chad.”
He assured Governor Zulum of his administration’s commitment to engage the Military to develop new measures to assist in re-establishing the full structure of cross-border trade in the area.
Earlier, Zulum congratulated the new Customs helmsman on his appointment as Comptroller-General of the service, adding: “Let me, first and foremost, congratulate you on your appointment as the Comptroller-General of Customs; this vital organisation in this country and I want to also commend the Nigeria Customs Service for uplifting the standard of living to the displaced communities in Borno and other parts of Northeastern region.”
He applauded the Service’s good gesture of distributing food and non-food items to the displaced persons in the state, which according to him, is alleviating the hardship of the victims of the Boko Haram insurgency.
He said: “I am here once again to solicit your support to continue distributing food and non-food items to the vulnerable people in Borno State.”
The Governor, who expressed interest in liaising with the Service to promote trans-border trade in the Northeast, particularly in Borno State, solicited the cooperation of the Service.
“As peace gradually returns to Borno State, I express my readiness to work with the Nigeria Customs Service to enhance transportation of goods between Nigerian borders with Cameroon, Chad and Niger,” added.