The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has projected to generate $176 billion over the next 20 years through the implementation of ongoing e-Customs project.
The Service’s Comptroller-General, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd) made this forecast on Monday during the signing of e-Customs Concession Agreement between the NCS, Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) and China’s Huawei Technologies Limited in Abuja.
The Comptroller General expressed optimism that the e-Customs concession project, when operational, would ease the cost of doing business, boost revenue, enhance productivity and end all forms of arbitrariness in the Service.
He clarified: “The $3.2 billion e-Customs project to be financed by the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) and managed by Huawei Technologies Limited under a 20-year concession window, when fully implemented, would quadruple Customs’ current N210 billion monthly revenue collection.
“We will be making $176 billion within the next 20 years. I appreciate our partners, Huawei Technologies Limited. We had to go to China a couple of times and today we are going to become fully digitized.
“I thank the AFC for financing this project on behalf of the entire Nigerians. The success of this project will be on the global map. We are going to hit the ground running.
“The journey has been long and torturous, but we’ve eventually signed the dotted lines. I want to appreciate the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) for the commitment to see the project to fruition”, Ali added
In his remarks at the pact-signing ceremony, the Acting Director-General of ICRC, Mr. Michael Ohiani, described the project as revolutionary as it would usher in digital smart processes and procedures in the Customs Service’s operations.
Ohiani explained that project marked a migration from analogue to digital and urged the concessionaire to comply with the rules of engagement as the commission will be strictly monitoring the project through to its completion stage.
Commenting on the deal, the representative of Huawei Technologies Limited, Mr. Kelvin Yang, assured that his company would ensure that the objectives of the concession agreement were achieved by conforming to global best practice standards in its implementation.
