from EMEKA OKONKWO in Abuja, Nigeria
Nigeria Bureau
ABUJA, (CAJ News) – THE Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is upskillling all officers on artificial intelligence (AI), Cloud computing, software development and other technology-driven solutions.
This exercise is central to the parastatal’s modernisation agenda.
Adewale Adeniyi, Comptroller-General of Customs, has described the initiative as the “largest gathering of highly talented, motivated, and skilled ICT officers in the history of the service.”
“We’re at a point where ICT is no longer just a support function. It is the engine room of our modernisation efforts,” he said at a workshop in Abuja.
“As we shift from legacy systems to homegrown digital platforms, I expect this unit to continue developing innovative solutions to the complex challenges we face,” he added.
The unit is the newly-established ICT/Modernisation Department of the NCS.
Adeniyi described the department as having helped demystify some of the customs’ toughest challenges in the past year.
“From the success of the Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) programme to piloting digital Customs declarations and automating container transfers to inland terminals, ICT has been pivotal.”
Kikelomo Adeola, is the Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs in charge of ICT/Modernisation.
She said Customs seeks to reduce physical examinations at ports by at least 50 percent before the end of the third quarter of 2025, using digital profiling, tools including AI, cloud-based systems and non-intrusive inspection technologies.
“Together, we will raise the banner of the Nigeria Customs Service and elevate our digital transformation journey to new heights,” she said.
NCS is one of the biggest tax collectors in the continent and the most prominent in West Africa.
– CAJ News