By Chinonye Anyatonwu
Compt. Dera Nnadi, newly deployed Customs Area Controller (CAC) of Seme Border Command has assumed duty with a pledge to sustain and improve tempo of trade facilitation at Nigeria’s busiest land frontier.
Compt. Nnadi took over from Comptroller Bello Jibo who now moves to Abuja headquarters of the service as Acting Assistant Comptroller General(ACG).
Speaking at a brief handover ceremony, Nnadi described Nigeria as a strategic economic player in Africa, said schemes like ongoing ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS) and soon to take off African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will be explored for common good.
Still speaking, the new CAC said that Nigeria’s economy is central to the West African sub region with a population of over 200m and the country has potentials to contribute to the over 1billion African population through the AfCFTA regime
He urged his operatives, other government agencies, members of the border community and travelers to
embrace challenges of trans border trade and comply with the law guiding trans border trade, also comply with international procedures.
He promised to deploy his experience in previous assignments and his academic exposures in border administration, adding that there is need to cover infrastructural gaps that will improve the standards of living of the community and promote lawful sources of their livelihood.
Ahead of the 2023 elections, he advised his officers to be polite to travelers and traders using the Seme corridor and be firm in curbing any form of lawlessness.
He said his experience and knowledge from previous assignments across the border and his academic exposures will be deployed to border administration
Nnadi who was earlier the controller, Ogun State Customs Command also participated at the Senior Executive Course 44 of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies(NIPSS), Kuru, Jos, authored a paper on Under Development of Border Communities and it’s Impact on Customs Operations.
He promised to interact closely with traditional rulers, members of the border areas and interactions with stakeholders.
