ICT and Customs service delivery

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is mandated to contribute to socio-economic development with its revenue collection activities by, on the one hand, facilitating legitimate trade, and on the other, protecting national economies and societies against risks, especially in the rising challenges of insecurity and terrorism in the country. Under the present dispensation of Comptroller-General Abdullahi […]

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is mandated to contribute to socio-economic development with its revenue collection activities by, on the one hand, facilitating legitimate trade, and on the other, protecting national economies and societies against risks, especially in the rising challenges of insecurity and terrorism in the country.
Under the present dispensation of Comptroller-General Abdullahi Dikko Inde, the NCS has made progressive efforts to facilitate trade through revenue collection.
As part of the efforts of the present administration towards facilitating trade, the NCS conducted a comprehensive feasibility study of the entire trade supply chain by engaging international consultants. The feasibility study, undertaken for the national single window, covered the core areas of change management, stakeholder engagement, business process and data harmonisation, legal framework and ICT readiness assessment.
The pre-arrival assessment report is a home-grown application initiated from design by the NCS with the support of technical partners.
The assessment report consists of the highly classed comprehensive national risk management system encompassing pre-arrival and cargo management, which is deployed in a phased approach. Its success story has been the brain behind the new face of the Nigeria Customs Service. Other countries have deployed same as a reference model for their customs organisations.
In addition, the NCS developed the innovative web-based application, known as the Nigeria Trade Hub Portal, simplifying access to information and providing guidance for would-be and existing traders in the areas of import, export and transit trade.
Commending the NCS, various agencies and private stakeholders who collaborated on the project, the Minister of Finance and coordinating minister for the economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, expressed confidence that the framework would contribute towards improving the nation’s investment climate and support its transformation as an emerging market economy.
Speaking recently in an interview on the ICT modernisation programme of the NCS, the chief executive officer of Techno Brain West Blue, the technology partner of the NCS, Ms Valentina Mintah, stated,
“It is of real pride to have an African Customs administration trail blazing in the area of technology innovations with simple, effective solutions such as the Nigeria Trade Hub.
Trade facilitation initiatives benefit both the business community and governments. The business community benefits by obtaining enhanced competitiveness in national and international markets due to reduction in delays and costs, which are achieved with predictable and efficient movement of goods across borders.
There is no gainsaying the fact that ICT is not just an enabler in the business and corporate organisations, it is now a game changer in transforming today’s e-trading, which has increasingly enveloped various aspects of our daily lives like work, business, teaching, learning, leisure and health.
Recognising that ICT is an enabler and not a driver of modernisation efforts, the comptroller-general of Customs as part of his six-point agenda, has focussed on other key areas to assist with the vision realisation. A typical example is the comprehensive capacity building programmes adopted by the Service.
The destination inspection programme and the associated ICT provision was initially designed to allow quick clearance of cargo and facilitate trade, which in turn would allow the Nigeria Customs Service deal with various stakeholders electronically whilst managing risk.
Ojo Mayowa is a public affairs analyst and an associate of APCON