The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) has solicited the cooperation of the Illela border community, marketers, and other stakeholders to facilitate safe and efficient trade movements in Sokoto State.
Mr. Kamal Muhammad, the NCS Comptroller in- Charge of Sokoto/Zamfara Area Command, gave the charge while officially reopening the Illela border on Thursday.
Muhammad charged security agencies and other officials at the border station to ensure maximum collaboration with each other.
He said the cooperation would pave the way for trade facilitation, information sharing, and intelligence sharing for safe, efficient, and effective service delivery at the border.
He further enjoined them to adhere to stipulated regulations, adding that the border was reopened in response to President Bola Tunubu’s directives after ECOWAS sanctions were lifted on the Niger Republic.
The Comptroller appreciated the licensed agents, traditional rulers, and community members and urged them to support NCS with credible information to serve the nation better.
He further educated the communities on the dangers of smuggling, which, according to him, deterred the nation’s economic growth.
The comptroller stressed the need for stakeholders to support NCS to achieve its mandate.
Muhammad added that the command had released 15 detained trucks containing food items for onward sale at Nigerian markets in compliance with presidential directives.
He urged traders to reciprocate the gesture by ensuring that the grains were sold to Nigerians at Nigerian markets to lower the prices of food items in the country. (NAN)
