Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, has directed the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to eliminate bottlenecks at the nation’s ports and accelerate the clearance of cargo.
Gatekeepers News reports that Oyedele gave the directive during his first board meeting at the NCS headquarters in Abuja since assuming office as finance minister and chairman of the Customs Service board.
The minister said Customs must improve port efficiency, remove unnecessary delays and ensure faster cargo clearance as part of efforts to make doing business in Nigeria easier and strengthen the country’s trade competitiveness.
He also called for greater transparency across the service’s operations and urged Customs to maintain uncompromising integrity in revenue collection.
Before the board meeting, Oyedele toured the Customs headquarters to inspect recent investments in technology and intelligence. He commended the leadership and personnel of the service for progress recorded in revenue generation and trade facilitation, while stressing that there was still a need for further improvement.
Oyedele further urged the NCS to adopt world-class performance benchmarks and focus on measurable improvements that would enhance efficiency at the ports and facilitate legitimate trade.
