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Thirty officers of
the Nigeria Customs Service, Ondo/Ekiti command, were yesterday
decorated with new ranks for the first time in three decades, as part
of efforts to boost their morale.

This is the first
time officers in the command will be promoted in the last 30 years,
since its establishment,” the Ekiti/Ondo State comptroller, Umar Yusuf,
stated while decorating the officers at the ceremony.

He commended the officers for their brilliant performance and urged them not to relent in their efforts.

“I want to salute
the 30 officers that are elevated to the next rank. I don’t want you to
rest on your oars. Continue do the job diligently.” He noted that since
the establishment of the command over thirty years ago, no single
officer has been elevated, giving the issue of irregular transfers as
one of the reasons why no one had been promoted.

Mr Yusuf advised
others to be dedicated to duty, saying all efforts must be geared at
reducing smuggling to the barest minimum in the country. According to
him, the command is poised to tackle the activities of smugglers in
Ekiti/Ondo State through regular combing of major state boarders.

Mr Yusuf added that
about eight projects being carried out in the command will be
commissioned by the Customs Controller General, Abdulahi Inde Dikko,
before the end of the year.

New projects

The Custom boss
said the projects to be commissioned include: a new hospital, women
barracks of five suites each, a new conference hall, new restaurant,
and a Senior Officers Mess, among others.

According to him,
the projects became necessary in order to ensure that the officers in
the command are motivated to put their best into the service. He said
the projects are meant to make life comfortable for the officers while
they discharge their duties.

“What I met on
board when I resumed office was not palatable, that is why we have to
embark on projects that will transform the Nigerian Customs and make
our workers perform well,” the area controller said.

He added that the
revenue base of the command has increased geometrically from N445, 000
in January to N4 million in July, 2010, representing a total percentage
of 889.

Mr Yusuf noted that
the command was generating funds from excise duties recovered on
Tokunbo vehicles, which are discovered by the Task Force which he set
up shortly after assumption of duty in the Command, together with
vigilant Custom Officers on patrol.

He assured that the Command is working assiduously to complement the
N660 billion targeted for the Controller General for the year 2010 by
the federal government.