Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, on Thursday said the location of the proposed Zonal Office and Training School of the Nigeria Customs Service at the Gateway Agro-Cargo International Airport would serve as an avenue to improve the status of the state as the industrial hub of the nation.
The project, he added, would also help the proposed Kajola Inland Dry Port and the Olokola Seaport, which he said would soon come on stream, just as the federal government is planning the resuscitation of a Liquefied Natural Gas Project in the area.
Governor Abiodun disclosed this when he and the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Mr. Adewale Adeniyi, visited the site of the Nigeria Customs Service’s proposed Zonal Office/Training School in Ilisan, Ikenne Local Government Area.
He said the Deep Sea Port and the Dry Port being planned by the state would open up the state for more investment opportunities, thus positively impacting the lives of the people.
According to the governor, the location of the school near the Agro-Cargo Airport would enable the Customs to carry out its duty of ensuring due process for the import and export of goods in and out of the country.
He appreciated the Comptroller General for ensuring the continuity of the project, emphasizing that with the coming of the Olokola Deep Sea Port and the Liquefied Natural Gas Projects in the state, the presence of Customs could not be overemphasized as it was vital and appropriate.
The cargo airport, the governor said, was strategically located to provide access to the Lagos-Ibadan and Sagamu-Ore-Benin Expressways, adding that it was built to comprise the Special Agro-Processing Zone and an Industrial Park to process goods for export and local consumption.
“Our airport was strategically located. It is built to comprise the Special Agro-Processing Zone because of the uniqueness of the state as the number one producer of poultry, cassava, and high-quality cotton.
“Your presence is a key addition to allow our state to score high in the Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria. Any investor that wants to invest will ask if the Customs is there. Comptroller General, you are complementing our giant strides. Under your leadership, the Customs will be the best in the world,” the governor said.
The governor explained that the Comptroller General has instituted many laudable programs that have enhanced the operations of the service.
Speaking, the Comptroller General said a similar project was ongoing in Kaduna State, adding that the facility was needed to expand its Federal Operations Unit in Lagos and for the purpose of relocating the Zonal Office to Ogun State.
Adeniyi, while assuring that the project might be completed ahead of schedule, also announced the establishment of a Customs University in Lagos, stating that budgetary provision and approvals have been given for its take-off.
The training school at Ilisan-Remo, the Comptroller General maintained, is a N73 billion project and would provide direct and indirect jobs to hundreds of people in the area, calling for the support of the government and people of the state to make it a reality.
“Ogun State has played a key role since the inception of this project till now. The project is to support what the governor is doing to enable his people to enjoy the dividends of democracy. We are happy to key into the vision of the state government to transform the state into a larger economic giant.
“The rest of Africa looks up to us to provide leadership, and after the completion of this project, no customs in the entire African corridor will come close to us,” Adeniyi submitted.