Firm Reiterates Commitment to ICT Driven Trade Facilitation in Nigeria

The Managing Director of Webb Fontaine Nigeria Limited, Mr Ope Babalola has reassured members of the trading public using the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) portal of the company’s unwavering commitment in ensuring excellent service delivery.

This reassurance is precipitated by recent temporary service interruptions experienced in the course of transactions by users of the NCS portal.

Cording to him, “At Webb Fontaine Nigeria we are looking to offer the best end user experience and to maximize the service availability in a very challenging (in a very particular) telecommunications environment. The recent interruptions were caused by factors beyond the control of Webb Fontaine Nigeria or its telecommunications partners. Nevertheless, by working around the clock with our telecom partners we were able to isolate and resolve this issues thus reducing the service interruption to a minimum.

“While we are yet to conclude if this was due to some deliberate vandalism or other causes, we have deployed our team of engineers, to ensure that every cause for a future breakdown is eliminated. Like in many other countries, where we operate, we are at the fore of providing solutions for trade facilitation, powered by world-class technology and artificial intelligence.
We also deliberately contribute in knowledge transfer through training and retraining of the country’s relevant manpower to achieve and sustain efficiency.”

He added that the NCS Integrated System (NICIS II) is a bespoke and tailor made initiative for customs efficiency.
The platform he stated has proven to be a home grown technological innovation running on international best practices and delivering credible results
“The NCS, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON), National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and many other government and private sector players in the import/ export community have leveraged on our provided solutions over the years.

“We have contributed immensely in migration from hitherto manual processes to a state of improved automation, which has resulted in revenue increase and seamless processing

For instance, importing agents can now go to the portal for trade actors to process all the required documentation, from e-Form M – the Central Bank of Nigeria and NCS’ online mandatory documentation process – to the Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) system of the NCS, and finally clearing their consignments, “he said.

This, he stressed, has improved the transparency of the NCS operations, raised revenue collection and blocked possible areas of leakages through risk assessment and management.

“The NCS as an organisation and its team of result driven officers are really utilising the provided platform for great results. This is evident in the unprecedented N1trillion half-year revenue collection recorded in June 2021, “he added.