The new Zonal Coordinator and Assistant Comptroller General of Customs in charge of Zone A Headquarters in Lagos, ACG Modupe Aremu, on recently tasked stakeholders on compliance with rules and regulations to boost revenue.

ACG Aremu made the assertion after taking over from her predecessor, acting Deputy Comptroller General (DCG), Katherine Ekekezie.

According to her, when there is compliance, there will be an increase in revenue and less intervention.

She added that if exporters complied with the rules, clearing time would not take more than 24 hours in the customs zone.

“With the coming onboard of e-customs soon, there is going to be an end-to-end automation so there will be paperless transactions, no personal contact.

“There will also be deployment of scanners at the borders and airports, and this will improve on our revenue collection and so to achieve this, compliance is key,” she said.

Aremu described Ekekezie as someone she looked up to over the years and would do everything possible to project the image of Zone A positively.

She thanked the management of Customs under the leadership of the Comptroller-General, Hameed Ali, for reposing confidence in her by bringing her to Zone A.

Earlier, Ekekezie pointed out that the basis for revenue for Zone A was absolute compliance at all levels, not just at the level of the importers, but the officers too.

She added that Zone A was where officers proved their worth and this showed in their work.

“I started this journey on Oct 15, 2018 and I feel so happy, that I am handing over to a sister, I know she is very capable and I thank the CGC for making this possible.

“Officers in this zone are compliant and they have to be compliant to be able to instil compliance in another person.

“Also, a lot of things has happened. Customs is looking very good because the controller general is very particular about his officers.

“They have been trained and retrained and that is why you see that things that used to be done upside down is now done properly,” she said.

She urged Aremu to carry along officers in the zone so that she would get the best out of them.

Also, Comptroller Sani Madugu while appreciating the outgoing DCG Ekekezie, described her as a selfless and hardworking person.

He welcomed Aremu and assured her that she would be getting full cooperation from all officers in the zone.

Madugu noted that Zone A was number one in the country in terms of revenue, seizure and with enough officers, importers and clearing agents.

He, however, assured her of the support of all the stakeholders to achieve the desired result.