JULY 9TH, 2015 LAUNCH OF OPERATION “HAWK DESCEND” REMARKS BY CAC

Written on July 9, 2015. Posted in Library Materials.

WELCOME ADDRESS BY THE CUSTOMS AREA CONTROLLER, SEME AREA COMMAND, NIGERIA CUSTOMS SERVICE COMPTROLLER NDALATI GARBA MOHAMMED AT THE LAUNCH OF “OPERATION HAWK DESCEND” TOWN HALL MEETING ON TUESDAY , 7TH JULY 2015

The Comptroller General of Nigeria Customs Service
The Director- General of NAFDAC
The ACG/ Customs Zonal Co-ordinator, Zone “A”
Customs Area Controllers
Distinguished Royal Fathers
President Poultry Association of Nigeria
Heads of Government Organizations
Stakeholders
Gentlemen of the Press
Ladies and Gentlemen

It is my privilege and great pleasure to welcome you to this Town Hall Meeting and also the inaugural launching of a special anti-smuggling operation against illegal importation of Frozen Poultry Products Code named “Hawk Descend”. I also wish to express my profound gratitude to the Comptroller General of Customs (CGC), Abdullahi Dikko Inde CFR and his management team for choosing Seme Area Command for this patriotic initiative.

As the busiest border control post and a hub in West African sub region, we at Seme Area Command are strategically placed to uphold the core objectives of the Nigeria Customs Service which are:

Suppression of smuggling to the barest minimum
Facilitating an enabling environment for legitimate trade
Collection of revenue and accounting for same

We have therefore intensified effort towards fulfilling these objectives and will leave no stone unturned in our mission.

Our modest effort borne out of the capacity development initiative and logistic support of the CGC has led to declining rate of smuggling and improvement in revenue collection. The rate of smuggling declined from 458 seizures with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N198,276,657.00 in the first half of 2014 to 384 seizures with a PV of N142,555,243.00 in the first half of 2015. Goods seized within the period include vehicles, rice, vegetable oil, general goods and over 5,178 cartons of Frozen Poultry Products valued at N44,818,440.00.

Conversely, the sum of N4,815,209,043.48 collected as revenue between January – June 2015 surpassed the sum of N4,330,670,435.26 collected within the same period last year (2014) by 5.3%.
Despite coming under severe attack and antics of suspected smugglers and their sponsors, we remain undaunted in pursuit of national goal. An Officer CAIII (T), Olonitola G.M is still recuperating from severe burns sustained from a petrol bomb attack by yet to be identified suspected smugglers three (3) weeks ago. These murderers must not escape justice. In the face of hazards, our heads remain unbowed as full logistics supplied by our ingenious CGC have been deployed for maximum efficiency.

One of the cardinal focus of the Customs Service is public enlightenment of national security, import, export and transit procedure. To this end, we enlisted the support of authorities and opinion leaders within our Area of Jurisdiction for collaborative support. In this regard we commend the effort of Nigerian Ambassador to the Republic of Benin, our Royal fathers, the Joint Border Security Agencies, Customs Community Relation members among others. Sir, we will continue to count on you as operation “Hawk Descend” takes off today. With all set for takeoff, we look forward to a better time for our Poultry Industry and good opportunity for our unemployed youths.

Once again we say Welcome, Bienvenue , Mikabolo!!!