The Comptroller -General of Customs(CGC) Service, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi on Tuesday 13th August 2024 handed over the Vice Chairmanship of the World Customs Organization – West and Central Africa (WCO-WCA) region to Amadou Konate, the Director-General of Mali Customs.
At the ceremony, the Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service, Adewale Adeniyi, handed over to his Malian counterpart, Amadou Konate.
The ceremony, held at the Nigeria Customs Service Headquarters in Abuja,CGC Adeniyi stated that ,the WCO is an umbrella body that brings together more than 184 customs administrations, noting that the West and Central Africa region comprises 24 administrations working in unison to achieve their mandates.
The Vice Chairmanship role is pivotal in driving strategic initiatives, fostering regional integration, and ensuring that member countries adhere to international best practices in customs operations, He said.
Customs boss,Adeniyi outlines the achievements of his tenure, including enhanced regional cooperation, capacity building, and the adoption of innovative technologies that have strengthened customs processes across member states.
He urged the new Vice-Chair to take measures that would bring the region’s customs administrations together, emphasising that they could draw strength from one another to address their challenges.
“The handover document has identified some immediate challenges that the Vice-Chair will confront in the months ahead.
“The most important of these is the need to mobilise funds and resources to support our activities in the region, he said.
In the same vein,Director General of customs mali In his response, Konate assured the outgoing Vice-Chair that he would build on his achievements to enhance customs administration in the region, cooperation, improving revenue generation, and tackling challenges such as smuggling and transnational crime.
