… processed 16,000 declarations
The Nigeria Customs Service has realized about N120 billion as revenue within the three months it was taste running the B-Odogwu software.
B’Odogwu, is a new unified customs management system introduced by the Service in October 2024. The pre-launch of the pilot phase started at the Port & Terminal Multi-Services Limited (PTML), Lagos
The Comptroller General of Customs (CGC) Adewale Adeniyi, stated this at the pre-launch of B-Odogwu in Apapa and Tin-Can Island Command, Lagos on Monday.
Speaking at the pre-launch, Adeniyi said that a total of 16,000 declarations were made by the trading community, within the three months at PTML
He discovered that the system is paperless, faster and more efficient than the Nigeria Integrated Customs Information System ( NISIS) introduced some decades ago.
The CGC also i revealed that the contracts of those who were managing the customs server expired about 10 to 15 years ago and that they did everything to frustrate the smooth take off of B-Odogwu.
He stated that, though, some glitches were noticed during the three months when the software was earlier launch at PTML, but that a good number of the glitches have since been taken care of by the Customs technical team.
“2025 is indeed a year of history for us, because we have reached a very critical juncture in our operations, and it necessitates that we needed to move forward with the kind of modernization initiative that we have embarked upon. And the timeline that we are in, the timing of it, is very, very important, because it aligns with our strategic transformation roadmaps, and the commitments that we are giving to all our stakeholders.
“I’m happy that the Deputy Comptroller General (DCG) has spoken about the advanced system developments brought about by the introduction of the Unified Customs System. Like I explained at the PTML when we launched the pilot project, we have been under service provision for almost a decade by a service provider contracted by government. The service provision was under a contract for a period of time, and that expired.
“For some reasons, government, in its wisdom, found it necessary to extend that contract. And a number of other extensions were granted, and government fell at the time that that contract needed to be terminated. And a new concession agreement was signed between the federal government of Nigeria and a new service provider, TNP.
“And while Trade Modernization Project (TMP) set to work, one of the early conversations that they had with us was, are we going to continue on NISIS that we have used for decades, or are we going to introduce a new legacy system? And because of the history of frustration and dissatisfaction that we have with Nigeria Integrated Customs Information System ( NICIS), we took that bold decision that we are going to start on a fresh note. We are going to develop a new system that will take care of all the challenges that we’ve had, all the frustrations that we’ve had with federal systems for over almost 20 years. And that was why our officers working with the service providers started to develop a new system.
“And what we had was what we christened Bodogu. And I think we all need to understand how we came with a new concept that is inward-looking, that is indigenous, that reflects our aspiration to put at our border a very, very robust system. Robust as Bodogu. Resilient as Bodogu. Powerful as Bodogu. So that has the resilience that can handle the complexity and the volume of international trade.
“And I have good news for you. One of the issues that we experienced in PTML is that of the integration of the Central Bank of Nigeria. Now I can inform you that at the highest level of CBN, that is the government of Central Bank of Nigeria, as of Thursday last week, has endorsed a service implementation of B-Odogwu.
“And we are confident that the necessary directives will be given to all authorized dealer banks. We are no longer talking about those 11 or 12 that work with us in PTML. Because all authorized dealer banks have been instructed to key in to this, and very soon they will all be coming from here for you” he added.
The Chairman of the National Council for Managing Directors, Licensed Customs Agent,Oladimeji Lawal, while sharing his experiment stated that he observed that B-Odogwuis faster than NICISl platform that was previously used.
