The Nigeria Customs Service has commenced the prelaunch of the ‘B’Odogwu’ trade facilitation tool in Apapa and Tincan Island commands to boost trade.

Addressing journalists on Monday in Apapa, Lagos, during a stakeholder engagement, the Comptroller General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, stated that stakeholders support the platform to work efficiently.

B’Odogwu is an indigenous trade facilitation platform developed by the NCS to replace the existing Nigerian Integrated Customs Information System II. The initiative is expected to modernise customs operations, improve efficiency in trade documentation, and enhance revenue collection.

Adeniyi stated that the pre-launch is coming following the success of its pilot phase at the Ports & Terminal Multipurpose Limited Command earlier this year.

The customs boss highlighted that the deployment was a pre-launch phase rather than full implementation, given the scale of the Apapa and Tincan commands.

He explained that with the cooperation of the stakeholders, the challenges with the platform will be addressed.

“With your cooperation, with your support and understanding, we will together address all those challenges. I need to bring your memories back to some time in 2013-2014; we walked this same route together,” he said.

The CGC mentioned that the platform replaces the old system, “with a more robust and indigenous solution taking into consideration the frustrations associated with previous customs management platforms.”

Earlier, the Deputy Comptroller General of Customs in charge of information technology/modernisation, Kikelomo Adeola, assured stakeholders of continuous engagement to refine the system.



https://punchng.com/customs-begin-pre-unveiling-of-trade-facilitation-tool/