Elevate yourself to ‘stake owners’, Kebbi Customs boss urges traders

The new comptroller of Customs, Kebbi State Area Command, Mr Chidi Chukwumeziri Nwokorie, has called on traders operating along the Kebbi State border corridor to transition from being mere stakeholders to becoming ‘stakeowners’ in the promotion of legitimate trade, in line with the vision of the Comptroller General of Customs.

Speaking during his maiden press briefing in Birnin Kebbi over the weekend, Nwokorie praised his team of officers for their commitment and dedication, which he said led to significant arrests and seizures and culminated in the generation of a remarkable N102.17 million in revenue within just one month of assuming office.

“It is exactly 42 days today since I took over the leadership of this Command. On that day, I made a commitment to enhance revenue generation and collection, support legitimate trade, and tackle smuggling with every reasonable means,” he stated.

He assured genuine traders of continued support and facilitation, noting, “For those in legitimate trades and businesses, you truly have a friend and supporter in me. We are here to support every genuine business, as we have demonstrated in recent weeks.”

Nwokorie urged traders and stakeholders to take full advantage of the opportunities provided by the current Customs leadership. “I encourage all our stakeholders and legitimate traders to make the best use of the opportunities provided by the Comptroller General in advancing and enhancing your businesses. He wants to elevate you all to ‘stakeowners’ instead of just stakeholders,” he said.

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On revenue generation, the Customs chief noted that despite the challenges posed by the closure of the major border post at Samiya/Segbana, leaving only the Kamba border operational, the command has managed to stay afloat. He revealed that the command generated N13,378,002 in one month, a slight improvement compared to previous periods.

Highlighting the command’s recent enforcement efforts, Nwokorie disclosed that seizures made in recent weeks included 145 bales of second-hand clothing, 13,750 litres of petrol, 114 bags of foreign parboiled rice (50kg each), and 20 cartons of foreign cigarettes.

Other intercepted items included 70 packs of expired Biggy Vanilla Wafer biscuits, 27 cartons of expired Subway (AA) dry batteries, and 40 bags of foreign sugar (50kg each), among other contraband.

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