By Moses Ebosele,
ebosele@hotmail.com
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Saturday unveiled the new N73 billion complex of the Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Zone ‘A’, Ikeja of the Nigeria Customs Service, located in Iperu Remu, Ogun State.
The commissioning formed part of activities that also saw the President inaugurate the Gateway Airport and a state-owned airline, where he lauded the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, for driving reforms that have improved ease of doing business and enhanced staff welfare within the Service.
The newly unveiled complex comprises modern barracks, a training college, a warehouse, and a hospital, designed to support the expanding operations of the Customs Service.
Speaking with journalists after the event, Adeniyi explained that the relocation from Ikeja became necessary due to the rapid growth in the scope and scale of Customs operations over the years.
“When we joined the service over 30 years ago, Ikeja was a very big place for us; it was enough to accommodate all those activities. But over the years, the operations, the size, and the scope of our mandates have expanded significantly. We needed a space that is comfortable, convenient, and more conducive for our personnel,” he said.
The Customs boss disclosed that although the project was initially estimated at about N73 billion, only 45 per cent of the work has been completed.
He noted that the Service is currently seeking presidential approval for a cost review to reflect prevailing economic realities and ensure timely completion.
“This was conceived to be in the region of N73 billion. But of course, between inception and now, a number of things have happened. We are now in the process of seeking Mr. President’s understanding that we might need to vary what was originally approved.
“We are only 45 per cent into the execution of the project, and so we still have a fairly long way to go. It would be of our interest, it would give us delight if Mr. President would give us the enablement to finish this during his tenure,” Adeniyi added.
