The Comptroller-General of Customs, Col Hameed Ali (retd), has described the ongoing reforms being implemented in the service as challenging but achievable.
He said this during the graduation of 40 junior officers of the Nigeria Customs Service at the Customs Command and Staff College, Abuja.
Ali told the gathering that out of the three mandates given to him by President Muhammadu Buhari to reform, restructure and increase revenue generation by the NCS, that of reformation was the most challenging.
He said while the country had begun to experience the inherent benefits of some of the reforms being implemented by his administration, noting, however, that there were still some officers in the service who had yet to embrace the reforms.
He told the graduating officers to use the knowledge that they had acquired during the period of the training to be agents of change in their various commands.
Ali stated, “Today, we have been able to place the Customs on a high pedestal. People respect customs officers not because of anything, but because we are beginning to change the way we do business.
“We are not asking for bribes anymore although it’s still going on, but not in many places. Also, we are not living flamboyantly again.”
Out of the 40 junior officers that graduated from the college, nine are female.
The College Commandant, Eporwei Edike, said the institution would continue to produce officers who would make a difference in the ongoing efforts to reform the service.