Comptroller Frank Onyeka, Customs Area Controller of Tin Can Island Port in Lagos has described his deployment to the command as a challenge and a repose of confidence in him by the Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi.
Speaking at a lunch time media parley with journalists in Lagos on Friday, June 20 , 2025 , Comptroller Onyeka said his appointment as Acting Controller with the rank of a Deputy Comptroller to the nation’s second largest port was a motivation and call to higher service, which must be executed diligently for excellent results
He told reporters that upon assuming office, challenges of multiple alerts, indiscriminate picking of containers have been addressed through regular stakeholders engagement and interaction with the media to pass accurate information .
Speaking on the Unified Customs Management System (UCMS) also known as B’Odogwu , Comptroller Onyeka said it is a fully homegrown system being promoted by the Comptroller General as an innovation for trade facilitation.
He added that the initial challenges encountered from the pilot area of Ports Terminal Multiservices Limited (PTML) where B’Odogwu was rolled out are being addressed and improved upon
Onyeka said “The B’Odogwu is fully homegrown. It’s locally made. It was initiated by your daughters and your sons. It is fully homegrown by Nigeria Customs Service . It is a concept that was born through the innovation of the Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi.
“He said we should come together to see how we can bring together our local knowledge for the purpose of trade facilitation. We at our end have always envisaged that something that is going to be new like this will have its own initial problems.
“We picked the problems from what we saw at PTML Command and we are addressing these problems here at Tin Can . I want to tell you with all sense of responsibility and according to the rule of law that it has been an interesting exercise that has always had its issues and once the issues come, we address them and move forward”
Speaking on the invaluable contributions of regular stakeholders interaction to successful customs operation, the Controller commended the media for their strategic contributions to his success.
He recalled that while at the gate in Onne Port, he won award for excellence in revenue collection through intelligence obtained from stakeholders
Also speaking at the parley Oyindamola Abass Oladepo, an Assistant Comptroller and B’Odogwu Project Manager at PTML , said efforts being made for quicker release of consignments. He said customs has shown increased and deliberate manpower upgrade to facilitate trade using ICT.
According to Oladepo,Customs is most times not responsible for many port related delays attributed to the service.
Oladepo said “B’Odogwu is an indigenous thing and we have come to accept it as it is. It started in PTML Command when we piloted on the 24th of October, 2024 when the CGC came to launch it. It is taken over from NICIS
“We are very intentional about it and that was why the CGC deemed it fit to recruit ICT professionals. Every time we go out as Customs, ,we tell people that customs is not the way we are seen. Majority feel we only deal with rice and cars. But right now, we have a dedicated ICT department that ensures that there is seamless trade facilitation and that is what B’Odogwu is about.
“We had our initial problems with B’Odogwu , but we have solved over 90% of those problems. The little ones that we encounter now are even being treated in an innovative way by customs.
“What do I mean by innovative way? We are ensuring that when you encounter those problems, before you even present them to us, we are looking for how to ensure that your trade and your consignments are not delayed at the port. And that is why you see that you have little or no issue of demurrage at your shipping companies. When I say little or no demurrage, people may want to quote us that we have shipping terminals giving us at a reduced rate.
“That could be that it’s as a result of the delay you have in processing your transaction at your own end. As far as customs is concerned, the moment your goods enter our territory and exit our system, you are done with all processing. So whatever happens at the terminal level should not be blamed on customs” Oladepo said
