Customs Chief, Others Bag Transparency Awards

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Customs Area Controller for Oyo/Osun Area Command, Comptroller Ogunkua Tolutope has been conferred with the prestigious Transparency Medal Award by a continental media organisation, MSC Africa magazine.

Similarly, two other officers of the command, CSC Hinga Philip and DSC Alajogun Joseph also bagged ‘the Best Staff Officer of the Year’ and ‘the Best Operation Officer of the Year’ respectively from the same organization. The officers were presented with the awards at Customs Boardroom, situated in the Oyo State capital, Ibadan.

The command in a statement signed by its Public Relations Officer (PRO), Onuigbo Ifeoma Ojekwu quoted the publisher of the magazine, Otunba Gbenga Adebayo expressing delight at the strides made by the command in the last few years by neutralizing the antics of smugglers and tremendously boosting the country’s revenue generation profile.

According to the statement, Adebayo specifically acknowledged the large number of seizures of contraband and detention of those who in one way or the other involved themselves in various smuggling activities. The Customs Area Controller is a role model in view of the existing camaraderie between him and the officers and men. I therefore enjoin other commands to emulate the good gesture by ensuring synergy among their operatives for effectiveness.

Adebayo also enjoined the members of the public to always see officers and men of the NCS as partners in progress saying “the era when the Customs is perceived as enemies of the society is over as the Customs remains one of the torchbearers of the national economy. Only charlatans and smugglers will not see anything good in the Nigeria Customs Service”. Comptroller Ogunkua in his response commended the management of the media organisation for its editorial judgment while advocating progressive and developmental journalism in the country as against the ugly culture of pull-him-down or blackmail syndrome.

He expressed his determination to keep up the good work in the command even as he promised to dedicate his award to those he described as “the gallant officers and men of the command” saying he could not have done anything worthwhile without their support.