Customs, ICPC Forge Alliance to Combat Corruption
By Patience Ikpeme
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) have announced a significant alliance aimed at tackling corruption within the ranks of officers and stakeholders.
This collaborative effort was solidified last week during an official visit by the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, to the ICPC Chairman, Musa Adamu. The meeting underscores the commitment of both agencies to foster cooperation and develop strategies to eradicate corrupt practices.
During the meeting at the ICPC Headquarters, Comptroller-General Adewale Adeniyi emphasized the importance of the partnership. He highlighted the critical role of the ICPC as a witness to government activities, seeking their cooperation to mitigate corruption among non-compliant traders and officers. “Our reasons for collaborating with ICPC is so perfect because we consider ICPC as the critical witness of government,” Adeniyi stated.
Reflecting on the achievements of the Nigeria Customs Service, Adeniyi pointed out a remarkable 70% increase in revenue generation since he assumed office in 2023. He attributed this success to the agency’s focus on security mandates and efforts to secure the nation’s borders. “We’ve achieved a 70% increase in revenue generation in the last one year; paid attention to our security mandates, and we are doing our best to ensure that we keep the bad guys out of our borders,” he said.
Adeniyi also stressed the need to address areas prone to corruption within the system. By identifying and tackling integrity gaps, he believes the NCS can restore the country’s glory in trade facilitation and ease of doing business. “We believe that it is also possible for us to take a second look at areas that are prone to corruption and the integrity gaps by ourselves, to tackle them and bring back the glory of the country in terms of trade facilitation and ease of doing businesses,” he added.
The Customs Boss expressed optimism that forming a strong alliance with the ICPC would make it easier to combat corrupt practices and aid both agencies in fulfilling their mandates. “So, this is why I felt that we need to put ICPC amongst those critical agencies of government that we are collaborating with,” he stated.
Adeniyi acknowledged the ICPC’s efforts in curbing corrupt practices in Nigeria and emphasized the need for their assistance to address integrity gaps within the NCS. “This is why we felt we needed a partnership with an agency like yours to teach transparency into our system. And we believe that, once we make it possible to sign a Memorandum of Understanding between the Nigeria Customs Service and ICPC, we will achieve this in a number of ways in terms of specific areas,” he concluded.
ICPC Chairman Musa Adamu welcomed the NCS team and appreciated their initiative to collaborate with the commission. He highlighted the milestones achieved by the ICPC in preventing corruption and emphasized the importance of partnerships to ensure a prosperous Nigeria. “I believe the responsibility to promote the image of this country is reposed on our shoulders, and only through sanitising Nigeria as well as collaborating with NCS, will we achieve greatness,” Adamu stated.
Chairman Adamu outlined one of the key strategies to combat corruption: organizing capacity-building programs for traders and stakeholders. These programs aim to educate them on avoiding actions that could sabotage the national economy. He reiterated the ICPC’s commitment to partnering with stakeholders to achieve this goal.
