Francis Sardauna in Katsina
The acting Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Mr. Adewale Adeniyi, at the weekend in Katsina State, met with the state governor, Dikko Radda, to enforce full compliance with the Jibia Border closure directive.
This was announced in a statement yesterday by the National Public Relations Officer of the service, Abdullahi Miawada.
Recall that due to the recent overthrow of a democratically elected government in the Niger Republic, the Nigerian government shut down the Jibia border.
Adeniyi in the statement said that the visit was also to solicit the cooperation of border communities.
The CGC told the governor that the president’s decision was not implemented to witch-hunt the businesses of Nigerians.
He stressed that the obstruction is a temporary measure.
Adeniyi also informed the governor that the exercise did not affect the Jibia border alone.
“It is a shared decision that affected many borders within the Economic Community of West African States,” he added.
He said that the service would also devote energy to sensitise members of the communities to the reason behind the decision.
In his response, the governor who was represented by his deputy, Farouk Lawal, welcomed the CGC and assured him of his unflinching support.
“I want to congratulate you on your appointment, and I wish you a successful tenure,” Farouk said.
Adeniyi also visited the Katsina-Jibia outstation of the service to examine the level of compliance with the order.
He also interacted with the residents of the border area and stakeholders.
Addressing the officers at the outstation, the CGC charged them to sensitise the community to the rationale behind shutting the borders.
“The president takes this matter seriously, and he aims to protect the democracy and peaceful coexistence in this country. Therefore, the current happenings in Niger prompted President Tinubu to take this action.
“So, we are here to evaluate the level of compliance of the directive as well as to assess the activities of the officers and men of the service in the axis.”
He emphasised that Nigerians cannot have meaningful economic development in an atmosphere of uncertainty.
However, stakeholders who spoke during the meeting told the CGC they will respect and abide by the directive.
