Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) has sought for improved synergy among sister security agencies in the country towards ensuring that smuggling activities are brought to the minimal level.

The NCS Assistant Controller General (ACG) in charge of Zone ‘A’, Aminu Dahiru, stated this while addressing officers and men of the command at the command’s office in Ojofin, Ipokia Local Government of Ogun state.

The ACG, who is on duty tour of the Ogun Area Command of the service, insisted that the menace of smuggling requires a combined efforts to be decimated.

Dahiru warned that the activities of smugglers portend great danger for the Nigerian state if not urgently checked.

According to him, “Smuggling is a menace to the nation and it is our collective responsibility to fight it. It requires a lot of logistics, personnel, synergy and cooperation.

“But the truth of the matter is that even if you have all it takes in the area of logistics, a single organisation cannot fight it. No matter how equipped you are.

“In essence, we need each other to end it. More so, we have to operate in a hostile environment as this. We have to talk to local people and make them realise the dangers associated to smuggling”.

“This is because a smuggler can bring in anything that is dangerous like arms and ammunition. From onset, the intention is not good because there are things that can’t be imported”.

The customs boss also disclosed that smuggling activities has continued to have negative effect on the revenue generation of government.

He however requested for renewed patriotism on the part of the officers and men of the command, especially those operating at the hinterlands.

He said, “another is that it benefits individual and not the country. Duty paid on goods goes to the nation’s account but the money made from smuggling goes into the private account of the individual.

“In a nutshell, we have to have that patriotism required by law in each and every one of us. We must come together to be on the side of the state. If we don’t do that, we are as bad as the smugglers.

“I choose this pace to visit because of its significant. One is because of the convergence of the sister security agencies here. It shows there’s is peace and understand and that will assist us to fight any war, be it physical or psychological”.

“Your duties are supported by law while the smuggler is on his own. I urge you to work together because the goal is almost the same. We are looking for peace and revenue because if there’s revenue and no peace, then the revenue becomes irrelevant. For any progress in human endeavor, there must be peace

“Never look down on your colleague. There’s no agency that is not important. We should do our work collectively and intelligently.

https://www.africaprimenews.com/2018/03/25/economy/nigerian-customs-restrategise-to-arresting-suspects-along-any-seizure-clamped-down-on-car-smugglers-along-idiroko-axis/

The National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has approved the appointment of

Yekini Nabena as the Acting National Publicity Secretary of the party.

The appointment was contained in a letter issued on Wednesday in Abuja and signed by the National Secretary of the party Mr Mai Mala Bunu.

It said the appointment followed the resignation of the party’s National Publicity Secretary Malam Bolaji Abudullahi who defected to the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) earlier on Wednesday.

“I write to convey the resolution of the National Working Committee reached at its 34th regular meeting of Aug. 1, 2018, mandating you to resume duty as the Acting National Publicity Secretary with immediate effect.

“This development is sequel to the resignation of Malam Bolaji Abudullahi as the National Publicity Secretary,” the letter said.

It wished Nabena success in his services to the party and assured him of the highest regards of the leadershi

The Court of Appeal on Wednesday gave go-ahead to the National Assembly to re-order the sequence in which the 2019 general elections would be conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, on Wednesday urged all stakeholders to collaborate with the Federal and State Governments to fund and boost the quality of education in the country.

Adamu said this in Abuja at the opening of the 63rd National Council on Education (NCE) Meeting with the theme: Funding of Education for the Achievement of Education 2030 Agenda.

The minister noted that adequate funding was central to the efficient and effective education in the country.

He said that the budget for education could not take care of the need of the sector hence the need for all stakeholders to come in to assist in increasing the funding of the sector.

The minister said that the bane of the country’s educational growth and development at all levels was poor funding and which required the commitment of the three tiers of government and other stakeholders.

He said that with the population of over 170 million people in which 45 per cent are below 15 years, the burden of education had become overwhelming on the three tiers of government.

Adam said that the 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development was aimed at wiping out poverty through Sustainable Development by 2030 and attend to the “unfinished business” of Education for All (EFA) goals.

According to him, to achieve the goals of education 2030, conscious efforts must be made to increase funding of education.

He said that the challenge therefore raises some fundamental questions which all stakeholders must address to increase the education funding in this country.

“Since the Federal Government has committed 6 per cent of its 2017 budget to education, which is far below the UN benchmark, what is the responsibility of the states, parents and multi-national companies?

“ It is their responsibility to bridge the gap and provide the education sector a much needed life line.

“ Secondly, what necessary tracking mechanisms are put in place to guarantee judicious and effective use of the funds? These are the questions that must be addressed.’’

Adamu said that it was time the Federal Government, states, FCT, Local Government councils, development partners, civil society organisations, labour unions, media and all stakeholders interface to address the challenges.

He called on the stakeholders to formulate and implement policies required to achieve the Education 2030 agenda.

The minister identified progresses made as a result of policies in previous NCE to include the expansion of access to all levels of education, curtailing out-of-school syndrome and the security and safety of educational institutions.

According to him, other progress made were interventions in the delivery of adult and non-formal education, innovation in the conduct of examination by the Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB), among others.

Adamu also commended the JAMB registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, for bringing probity to the sector through the remittance of over N15 billion.

He said JAMB had continued to record growth in the sector through its monitoring mechanism to guarantee credibility of the education system.

The minister also said that efforts had been made to improve teacher capacity and professional development with the training of 800 graduate teachers.

On the out-of-school syndrome, the minister said the present administration had carried out massive school census to ascertain the number of children attending schools across the federation.

He, therefore, applauded the government’s effort in its National Enrolment Drive Campaign to improve enrolment, retention and completion rates which he said had helped to address the huge number of out-of-school children in the country.

Earlier, Minister of State for Education, Prof. Anthony Anwukah stressed the need for more funding of education, saying that it required collective efforts of stakeholders to get this done.

He said that the low educational budget was inadequate for the essentials of education in the country, hence the need for it to be increased.

Anwukah, however, called on all stakeholders to collaborate with the Federal Government to advance the course of education quality and investment in the country.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the NCE is the highest policy making body aimed at addressing challenges and proffering solutions to problems confronting the education sector.

The 63rd session had in attendance Commissioners of Education in the 36 states and FCT, Heads of parastatals in the education sector and stakeholders from private organisations. (NAN)