Customs Officers Deserve Improved Welfare

SIR: Though the task of policing the borders is quite challenging, the Nigerian Customs Service, NCS, is blessed with officers and men who have the requisite competence to deal with smuggling. Then, why are the NCS officials suffering? Why are they not being given leave allowances? Why were they denied the 13th month salary last year?

  The successes NCS officials have recorded so far were due to the collective efforts of all officers of various units who have shown enormous support. They have expanded their operational horizon towards all the nooks and crannies of Nigeria, with a view to ensuring that they create a formidable platform for stopping smuggling activities. Then, why are the NCS officials not having standard welfare packages like standard barracks? 

  Several stakeholders have lauded the performance of the NCS, especially in the area of revenue generation and implementation of the pre-arrival assessment report (PAAR) in 2014, but there is still high expectation from the management of officers and rank and file of the service. NCS officials generate a lot of money into the Federal Government’s purse, yet they are being denied a lot of financial rewards. Most of these NCS officials have a lot of responsibilities to at home, but due to the meagre amount that the junior staff are being paid, they hardly live up to expectation.

  The NCS officials remain proactive in the discharge of their official duties; they ensure they are guided by the ethics of the service. The issues of welfare, posting and promotion should be addressed. Promotion should be based on fairness.

  The coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Comptroller General of Customs, Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko, should address matters concerning workers’ welfare. The monthly take-home salaries, especially for junior officers should be made commensurate with what obtains in other paramilitary organisations. 

Ogungbade Oyeyemi,

Lagos.