The Nigeria Customs Service says it has engaged in strategic collaboration with its Cameroonian counterpart to encourage mutual exchanges in cross border trade data.
The NCS Comptroller in charge of Adamawa and Taraba States, Mr Kamardeen Olumoh, made this known while reviewing the activities of the command from January to July 2019 yesterday in Yola.
Olumoh said that the bilateral agreement was designed in a way to manage the security challenges along Nigeria-Cameroon borders.
He said the core objective of the collaboration was to enhance trans-border security aside mutual exchange and sharing of cross border trade data.
“There has been strategic and operational collaboration between the Customs administration of Nigeria and Cameroon on how to manage the security challenges along our common borders.
“The collaboration is designed to encourage mutual exchange and sharing of cross border trade data,” Olumoh said.
He observed that engagement of border communities in information gathering was vital toward effective performance of customs personnel.
On revenue generation and anti-smuggling activity, he said the command had received four new patrol vehicles from the Federal Government to enable it step up its anti-smuggling war.
“Federal Government had responded positively to our demands where four new brand vehicles were delivered to the Command.
“In line with the core service of the command, between January and July 2019, the Command had generated N105.945 million, which represents 44.66 per cent increase compared to previous years.
“That means the command at the end of July 2019, had so for achieved 71.26 per cent of its annual target of revenue generation,” Olumoh said.
He noted that in the first quarter of 2019 the command’s revenue generation went up by 22.17 per cent.
He said shortage of officers to patrol the vast international border of Nigeria and Cameroon was a major obstacle facing the command.