A Lagos base maritime expert, Prince Olusegun Ologbese has hailed the initial steps taken by the new Customs Area Controller (CAC), Tin Can Island Port Command, Apapa, Lagos, Comptroller Musa Baba Abdullahi to reposition the command.
He gave Abdullahi a pat on the back for the steps he has taken since his appointment by the Comptroller General of Customs (CGC), Colonel Ibrahim Hammed Ali (retired).
Abdullahi’s appointment followed the deployment of the erstwhile CAC of Tin Can Island Command, Comptroller Yusuf Bashir to Customs Headquarters, Abuja.
Besides his meeting with some stakeholders in the maritime industry, Abdullahi has taken steps to ensure that the strides made by his predecessor were not eroded in the months ahead.
Speaking with THISDAY at the weekend, Ologbese who is also the Managing Director of Ogbese International Limited hailed the Customs Chief for the initial steps he has taken to execute the mandate of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in the command.
Ologbese, who is also the life patron of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Ondo/Ekiti States Councils said the visit of Abdullahi to the Commissioner of Police, Western Ports Command, Mr. Celestine Okoye was a step in the right direction.
He explained that apart from providing opportunities for rubbing minds, the visit will enable the agencies working in the nation’s seaports to share intelligence for better performance.
According to him, seeking inter-agency collaboration and synergy was not only a welcome development but the path to follow since no man is an island. This further shows that Comptroller Abdullahi did not forget and appreciates the role of Custom officers in the maritime sector of the economy.
Going down memory lane, the maritime expert said at the beginning of the port operations decades ago, the Nigeria Customs Service was the one carrying the responsibilities of other security agencies in the nation’s seaport.
“Gradually, the Nigerian Police and other government agencies spring up in the port and they have been working in co-operation with several other organisations to secure the port as well as protecting life and properties.â€
