Comptroller Babatunde Olomu, Area Controller, Apapa Port Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), has won three awards of Excellence, Revenue and Controller of the Year for himself and the Command.
The Apapa Area Command and Comptroller Olomu were honoured with the three awards for their outstanding feat at the Comptroller General of Customs (CGC) Award Night, held in Abuja on Friday.
Comptroller Babatunde Olomu, the Apapa Command Customs Area Controller, who was celebrated by colleagues, friends and stakeholders, stood out as the star of the night.
He emerged “Best Controller of the Year” for his exceptional leadership and improving on the Apapa Command capacity to deliver on its mandates at Nigeria’s premier port, Apapa.
The three awards were presented to the Command at a ceremony hosted by the Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, MFR.
The awards recognised the Command for its various groundbreaking achievements in the areas of revenue collection, anti-smuggling and trade facilitation.
For the first time in the history of the command, the Apapa Port Command generated Two Trillion Naira as revenue into the government coffers as at November 20, 2024.
Under the leadership of Comptroller Olomu, the Command raised the bar of preventing revenue leakages and achieving maximum collection, even in the face of low trade volume
With hands on daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly evaluation of its activities, the Command was attuned to getting all officers to resume early, process all entries timely, carry out diligent examination and shun compromise in the discharge of their duties
Shortly after receiving the awards in Abuja, Comptroller Olomu dedicated the honour to all officers and men of the Apapa Port Command.
The Area Controller, in a release on Saturday by Customs Public Relations Officer, Apapa Command, CSC Abubakar Usman, ascribed the achievements to teamwork, dedication, focus and cooperation.
Olomu said no leader can excel without supportive lieutenants and called for continuous support from all stakeholders as we enter the last month of the Year 2024.
While thanking the CGC for the honour bestowed on the Command, Comptroller Olomu said, as the number one Customs Officer in Nigeria, CGC Adeniyi has been a source of inspiration and good example for all officers to emulate.
He said the awards would serve as a motivation for selflessness, call for increased commitment and a challenge to sustain and improve on the tempo of work at the Command which will cascade to all bonded terminals attached to it.
The Apapa Command Controller also urged all port users to rededicate themselves to national service by being law-abiding and reporting suspected unlawful acts in the port to the service and other security agencies.
Comptroller Olomu lauded import and export traders who have used Apapa Port within the period of his leadership and implored them to operate in full compliance with the guidelines for their trade.
He specifically commended exporters who pioneered export activities under the Guided Trade Initiative (GTI) of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Olomu urged more Nigerian business men and women to take advantage of the ease of doing business initiative to use Apapa Port.
He invited them to tap into the simplified procedures being emplaced by the CGC under an evolving modernisation regime to trade seamlessly.
The CAC, Apapa Command, admonished his officers not to see the awards- The Best Command of the Year, The Best Command in Revenue Collection and the Best Customs Area Controller- as the end of hard work but a motivation and challenge to work harder.
He reminded them that compliance saves money, saves time, build integrity for positive profiling and helps in recognition for upgrade to the Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) status.
