“You started supporting me through your constructive reportage as soon I resumed here as the Customs Area Controller of this Command. I am here again to seek your continued collaboration to ensure the success of the paperless regime that we shall soon embark on”
Above are some of the words of the Customs Area Controller of the Tin Can Island Port Command, Nigeria Customs Service, Tuesday, at the Conference room of the Command as he held a Parley with members of the press.
The CAC has used the occasion of the interactive event to inform the journalists that the historic 100% shift from paper documentation to paperless operation would be kick-started from around the second quarter of this year. He emphasised that the NCS is definitely keying into the globally oriented processes of modern business practices.
Comptroller Onyeka, a known valuation guru says that he is ready to champion this shift in line with the innovative strategies of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi. He spoke on the workability of the paperless operation and said that “if B’Odogwu can overcome the initial teething problems and is now recording huge successes, the strategy of moving away from paper documentation to paperless operation will definitely work”.
Questions were also asked about probable sabotage and resistance to the soon to be introduced National Single Window Project, a platform for coordinated operation of activities along the logistics supply chain. Comptroller Onyeka ‘s reaction follows the usual ‘it is possible, it is achievable’ mentality, he replied that “I am very optimistic of the effectiveness and success of the NSW in helping to bring about predictability and efficiency”.
His words “We are all human beings and never perfect, but as professionals, we shall always try to modernise and innovate for better efficiency”.
The TCIP Command is the nation’s second busiest, revenue generating Command, its reputation as a critical Port of anti-smuggling and revenue generating activities is fimly established, but Comptroller Onyeka wants the Command to do more.
The Command had generated over ₦145.9 billion in January of 2026 against the over ₦116 billion realised in the corresponding period of 2025, the over ₦29 billion difference realised over the two periods speaks volume of the performance of one of their core mandates.
The CAC has hinted at completely moving away from the processes that cause delays noting “this year, we shall act as trade enablers, files will not be unnecessarily kept and we shall collect collectable revenues and not maximum revenue”.
The One-Stop-Shop is a newly launched Customs platform which centralises valuation, inspections, and compliance, replacing multiple, fragmented, and delayed processes with a single, unified digital workflow to enhance trade efficiency.
It is Customs mechanism for dealing with issues that may occur in the process of clearing consignments and it was fitting that the CAC spoke about its operation. He noted that OSS will efficiently resolve whatever issues that may arise from the processes.
Comptroller Onyeka seeks for further strategic engagement with the members of the press and every other stakeholder alike. He noted that the Command shall improve on the welfare support to the media and emphasised the critical importance of capacity building through training and other forms of engagement for journalists.