Ongoing Reforms In Customs Service Will Enhance Regional Trade And Boost Security – Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan said Tuesday in Abuja that in addition to

enhancing regional and continental trade, ongoing reforms in the Nigerian

Customs Service will also boost security in the country by helping to

curtail the influx of illegal small arms and light weapons.

Speaking at an audience with the visiting Secretary General of the World

Customs Organization, Mr. Kunio Mikuriya, President Jonathan said that the

reforms were necessitated by the need to re-define the core values and

operations of the service.
The President told Mr. Mikuriya that with the reforms, the Nigerian

Customs Service was being progressively modernized and given the

additional role of trade facilitation.
“I started out my career in the Nigeria Customs Service. Within that

period and now, there have been significant changes. The role of the

Customs Service as a trade facilitator is becoming more apparent.

“We promise you that the Nigerian government will continue to support

reforms in the Customs. If we do things well, others will emulate us in

the region,” he said
President Jonathan congratulated the Secretary General on his re-election

to lead the global body, saying that it must have been due to his strong

leadership skills.
Mr. Mikuriya told the President that he had toured ports in Lagos  and the

Nigeria Customs College, where well motivated staff showed a readiness to

learn and deploy new skills in their operations.
He said he also met with the business community in Lagos who testified to

the positive impact of ongoing reforms in the Customs Service.