The Customs Analytical Laboratory will open as part of the Nigeria Customs Service’s (NCS) efforts to stop smuggling.
This specialized facility intends to improve the NCS’s capacity to identify and stop unlawful activity at the ports, such as smuggling, by using cutting-edge analytical tools and procedures.
During a media briefing on Wednesday at the Service’s headquarters in Abuja, Comptroller-General of Customs Bashir Adeniyi disclosed this plan.
Between the second and third quarters of 2024, CGC Adeniyi emphasized, the laboratory would be operating.
CGC Adeniyi discussed the main goal of the laboratory, which is to provide accurate and dependable testing and analysis of imported and exported commodities in order to guarantee compliance with Customs requirements.
The head of customs added that the facility will use technology-based procedures to carry out extensive testing to ascertain the validity, composition, quality, and safety of items.
CGC Adeniyi expressed assurance that the Customs Analytical Laboratory’s installation will greatly improve the Service’s capacity to protect the public’s health, safety, and economic interests by reducing illicit trade.
In order to support export transactions, he continued, the NCS was actively participating in talks with the Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC).
Adeniyi further emphasized that the Service intends to support exports in line with President Bola Tinubu’s objective to diversify the economy and promote foreign exchange profits from non-oil exports, having established a specific technical committee.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is scheduled to begin on April 30, 2024, and the CGC emphasized the significance of these activities in getting ready for it.
Adeniyi told the public that there were easily available application gateways for checking customs paperwork, addressing public worries about this process while also guaranteeing stakeholder convenience.
He continued by saying that the Service is in line with the government’s larger plans to improve port operations, which include the Minister of Finance’s initiative to establish a Single Window system.
The steering group for the Single Window System’s implementation would soon be established, according to CGC Adeniyi.