Rededicate yourselves to your duties - Customs boss admonishes newly promoted officers.

Abiola Seun |

The zonal coordinator of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Zone A, Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs, (ACG), Kathleen Ekekezie on Tuesday, urged the newly promoted officers of the zones to work diligently to justify their promotions.

She disclosed this when she decorated 108 senior officers of the Zones with different ranks at the zonal headquarters in Lagos.

According to her, 13 officers were promoted from Deputy Controller of Customs to Controllers while 45 officers were promoted from Assistant controller to Deputy Controllers and 50 Assistant controllers also promoted from chief superintendent of Customs.

ACG Ezekezie said that promotion has given the officers promoted high responsibilities to deliver by carrying out their work diligently, as their positions have changed.

According to her, it is the thought of management to make officers happy in their welfare and the promotion is part of it. When officers work hard by discharging their duties, there is always a reward at the end of the day.
She said: “Before now, some of us will not be here, the newly promoted officers, will fill in the gap. So, don’t just look at it as ordinary promotion, look at it that, you are stepping up in terms of responsibility because you don’t know where this tide of elevation will carry you next.

“I want to start with the Assistant Comptroller, the other ranks, you will see that many officers will be decorated at command level. The reason you are called to the zonal headquarters is to show that something different has happened to you. Your rank has changed and you are now in Comptroller cadre.”

She said there is a demarcation between Assistant Comptroller and the rank of Chief Superintendent and the job order has changed, saying the AC will now become releasing officer and that is more responsibility.

She stated further, “From the Chief Superintendent down, there will be examination and they will come to you. You must do due diligence, do not just release because they said this is what they found. You must go extra miles that makes you a leader. You are now heading a group, which means management and leadership has started and this is how we start.

“You must take that extra mile to look at examination reports and then go into the system and check what you are seeing on the declaration, the bill of laden and Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) if they tally with the examination reports, then you don’t have any problems. Even if the container goes out and those on the roads catch it, eventually, it will come down to those who did examination because you have done diligence.

“But the moment you do not do this diligence and somebody else does it for you and find that there is a disparity between the declaration and the bill of laden and the PAAR, and then you have the CGC to answer to.”

She said the Controllers are now above examinations, which means they are not going to write any exams to attain promotion again, saying their promotion is now by appointment.”

However, the area Controller of the federal operations unit, Zone A, Compt Aliyu Muhammed who welcomes the newly promoted officers to the Comptroller cadre urged them to put the service first in all their actions.

Muhammed further urged them to dedicate themselves to the service of the nation and the Customs Service through integrity and hard work.