The Nigeria Customs Service in partnership with the World Customs Organisation(WCO), and the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is holding a leadership and management development programme for its newly-constituted management team.
The programme is targeted at the newly promoted members of the Management Team of the Nigeria Customs Service.
According to the Comptroller General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd) the leadership and development program focuses on personal leadership and management skills, organisation/strategic challenges, and executive team building.
“Since my assumption to office as the CG of Customs, it is about the third time, such a training will be held. First and foremost, we have a new management team joining and quite a number have retired. The training gives them, the perspective of leadership and what is required of them, because each of us, is supposed to be a role model,” he said.
Alli said that everyone is meant to play a role and be ready to take up the responsibilities and any top position or see himself as the next leader of the Nigeria Customs Service.
One of the facilitators, Donia Hammami who also doubles as the Head of the Accelerate Trade Facilitation Programme, noted that leadership is crucial for change and that the Nigeria Customs Service has started many reform processes, hence the training.
“This time could not have been more right, the embarkment of a new enthusiast era, so it’s really about slowing down and seeing the priorities and what the Leadership of the NCS want to bring, going forward.
“I am here with the support of the Trade Facilitation Program, which is supported by the United Kingdom, it’s a partnership of ten Countries, most of them in Africa, where we use the best practices and guidelines of the World Customs Organisation (WCO) and pair to pair learning between the various Customs Administrations to further support NCS to become a World Class Customs Service,” Hammani said.
Acting Deputy Comptroller General of Customs in charge of Human Resource Development, Saidu Galadima, who is a participant, expressed gratitude to the CGC for such training.
“This retreat is timely because human development is very key to the attainment of all our strategic goals, so starting with the management, we fast track the attainment of all our goals and deliverables, so I commend the WCO and the CGC for organizing this retreat for the management of Nigeria Customs Service.”
