By Uzor Odigbo
Acting Comptroller-General of Customs Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, said redefining the Nigeria Customs Service has been his priority since he assumed duty as the Ag. Comptroller-General of the Service.
“To continue from where my immediate predecessor stopped to fast-track a more robust implementation of a good project for the Service.”
The Customs Boss said this on Thursday, 7th September 2023, when he performed the groundbreaking ceremony for the massive construction of Customs Service Zone B Headquarters.
The extraordinary edifice of 25 hectares of land situated in the Mando area of Kaduna State is part of CGC’s unalloyed commitment to improve the welfare and efficiency of the Service.
Speaking at the ceremony, the CGC described the initiative as a magnificent project that will pave the way to establishing a solid and efficient infrastructure to drive the activities of the Service.
“I am glad to be here this morning, and as previously stated, this is the second project site I will be visiting and it is my wish that this site will be put to a difference in remarkable readiness and preparations.”
The Customs Boss, who said that the to-be-completed Zone B Headquarters is one of the ongoing projects that the Service started across the federation, assured the construction company of his support to ensure it is delivered in good time.
He also told the Chairman of CCECC Nigeria Limited that once the project is delivered on time and in good shape, it will open ways for them to get more opportunities from the Service.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Chinese-owned construction company, CCECC Nigeria Limited, Jason Zhang, commended the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi for entrusting them with the responsibility to construct the Zone B Headquarters.
He said the construction will serve as a landmark project for the Service, adding that “your presence today emphasizes the significance of this occasion – and I want to assure you of our esteem commitment to deliver this project properly.”
Speaking to journalists shortly after laying the project’s foundation, the CGC said the Headquarters will be more of a cantonment that entails everything the Service needs for optimal Customs operation in Zone B and other places across the Federation.
The site at mando consists of Nigeria Customs Service Zone B Headquarters, Auditorium, Residential Accommodation for the ACG, Comptrollers then block of flats for DCs, ACs, CSC and other rankes.
Other facilities include Farmers Market, shopping mall, religious buildings, water treatment plant, sewage treatment plant, roads and drainage.