Buhari to commission N19.6bn Customs headquarters today

President Muhammadu Buhari is set to commission the ultra-modern headquarters of the Nigerian Customs Service in Abuja today.

Briefing newsmen ahead of the commissioning, the Chairman of the commissioning planning committee, DCG Wale Adeniyi said the building is valued at N19.6 billion.

Giving a brief background on the building, the DCG Adeniyi said the idea to build a befitting ultra modern headquarters for the Customs was conceived in 2002 during the reign of the then Comptroller of Customs, Ahmed Aliyu Mustapha

“The 12th story edifice was conceived in 2002 and we started work by 2007 and 16 years after, we have a technology powered headquarters with a capacity to monitor what is happening in Nigeria’s borders where our men are working

“The Comptroller General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (Rtd) has maintained that the before he exits office, the Nigerian Customs will have a befitting headquarters that will ensure efficiency in service delivery as a critical agency of government charged with the responsibility of collecting revenue on behalf of the federal government,” he said.

DCG Adeniyi noted that some of the  challenges encountered in the building construction was the variation of prices due to inflationary factors over the years, adding that the Service is ready to host the President today to commission the headquarters complex.