Executive Order: Customs to begin shift to meet 24 hrs port operations

Nigeria customs Service, (NCS) yesterday said that its officers and men would soon commence shift duty to ensure that it meets the 24 hours port operations target directed by the Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo.

L-R: Comptroller General of Customs, Col. Hammed Ali (Rtd) and Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority, Hadiza Bala Usman, discussing after the meeting in Lagos.

Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Col Hammed Ali (Rtd), who disclosed this in Lagos, said that officers will now begin to work in shifts as they cannot be over-stretched.

In his words, “There is no way we can stretch one person for 24 hours, so we have to adopt the process of shift and that is the only way we can cover the Executive order on  24 hours port operation effectively” he added.

Similarly, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, (NPA), Ms Hadiza Bala Usman, has also said that respective Heads of agencies operating in the ports had equally issued directives to their staff to comply with the order.

She explained that yesterday’s meeting was to evaluate the implementation of the order by the various agencies in the port.

The NPA boss disclosed that part of the resolution from the meeting was the sustenance of the implementation of the Executive order.

She said “We are here today to have an interaction around the Executive order on port operation that was issued by the Acting President, and following weeks of implementation, we felt the need for all of us (Heads of agencies) to come together to determine how far our operatives have gone in implementing the Executive orders and also to harmonize our position and have one single implementation stream in implementing the order.

“We have very fruitful deliberations; we are going to sustain these deliberations as we go into the deadlines for the respective Executive orders.

We have the orders as stipulated we have identified them and every agency have committed towards deploying all human infrastructure required to achieve them.

It will recalled that the Acting President, churned out some executive orders that will make the port work on a 24 hour basis, some of the orders are that

There shall be no touting whatsoever by official or unofficial persons at any port in Nigeria.

On duty staff will be properly identified by uniforms and official cards.

Off duty staff shall stay away from the ports except with the express approval of the agency head.