The Nigeria Customs Service and a consortium, Trade Modernisation Project Limited, signed a concession agreement worth $3.2bn. This is to digitalize operations of the border security and revenue collection outfit. Thus, this is just as the Federal Government expects to generate over $176bn from the deal.
Recently, at the agreement-signing ceremony held at the Abuja national headquarters of the NCS were representatives of technical and financial partners in the deal. This includes the African Finance Corporation and Huawei Technologies Company Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of China-based Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.
Thereafter, Controller-General, NCS, Col. Hameed Ali (retd.), stated that Nigeria was setting a pace that other African countries were looking forward to following. Ali partly said, “The journey has been long and tortuous, but we thank God that today we have signed the dotted lines. Today, in Nigeria, we are going to be fully electronic, digitized, and modernized. The success of this project will put Nigeria on the map.
Then, the Chairman, of Trade Modernisation Project Limited, Saleh Ahmadu, described the event as a “momentous occasion,”. Noted that the deal was a public-private partnership arrangement in line with the ICRC guidelines. The $3.2bin investments required for the project are already being completed through an AFC led initiative. Further, as the concession period begins, we wish to assure Nigerians that they will achieve the revenue target of $176 billion for the Federal Government, if not surpassed”.
However, Acting Director-General, Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, Michael Ohiani, noted that it mandated the Commission to regulate all PPPs entered under the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission Act, 2005.
-Punch