The Comptroller General, of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Adewale Adeniyi announced the rollout plan of an indigenously coined platform, B’Odogwu, to Apapa Area Command, in a bid to improve the efficiency, revenue generation, trade transaction, and digital integration of the service.
The rollout plan followed shortly after the pilot phase of the initiative at the Port Terminal Multi-services Limited (PTML) Area Command. Meanwhile, since its introduction, the B’Odogwu platform has recorded zero downtime due to several innovations like continuous training sessions to ensure smooth adoption and effective use of the platform.
During the pre-launch high-level stakeholders’ engagement at Apapa Area Command, Adeniyi reaffirmed that the B’Odogwu initiative is a faster and more seamless transition, enabling the overcoming of the challenges of trade transactions.
Adeniyi further sought cooperation with relevant stakeholders to ensure the platform’s efficiency whilst overcoming hitches and implementation challenges.
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He said, “With your cooperation, support, and understanding, we will address all those challenges together. Our leadership team have established implementation benchmarks with clearly defined success criteria and contingency plan.”
Exemplifying the success recorded in PTML, Adeniyi reiterated that over 16,000 declarations were processed, generating revenue over N120 billion within three months. Speaking about the benefit of B’Odogwu, Adeniyi highlighted that the successful integration of the platform will enhance trade facilitation, streamline customs operations, boost government revenue, and improve the division’s transparency.
He added, “There is no looking backwards. We are focused on rolling out this platform. We have learned valuable lessons from PTML, and now, we are in the main place, and we want to ensure that the implementation will be seamless moving forward.”
