The comptroller general of the customs, Colonel Hameed Ali (rtd), has said that N20 billion would be required to upgrade security equipment in all international airports around the country.
He disclosed this while on a tour of inspection of the state of security equipment at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, alongside the minister of finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun.
The move, he noted, has become imperative owing to the mundane state of most of the airport security equipment, a situation he said is not in tune with world best practices.
“Most of the equipment are out of date and do not meet the present situation, hence the need for the review of the whole system and we are not looking at one airport, but our international airports.The moment we can make a seamless operation for traders and passengers they would want to use our own airports in the transaction of their businesses. This would enhance trade facilitation and in turn increase revenue generation,” he said.
Earlier, Adeosun had said that she is satisfied with the level of activities going on the airport as of present and hoped that purchasing the needed equipment would increase efficiency which would in turn spur revenue collection for the nation.
“The equipment we have are quite inefficient and we have to improve upon them. For instance, containers in the port will be cleared quickly. The customs as we know is a revenue generating and security agency and we really need to look at their operation and assess their need for new equipment, particularly for new technology in the form of scanners that would enhance their ability to do their job efficiently,” she said.
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