B-ODOGWU Gains Traction as Customs New Working Tool
- Replaces NICIS II in a Historic Switch to an enhanced Homegrown Content
… As CGC Adeniyi Launches Pilot Sheme at PTML Port Command
At last, the Nigeria Customs Service is set to finally put aside and exit the much heated NICIS II scheme, argued to have been an automated working tool characterized with a lot of inadequacies by stakeholders, as it recently launched the much touted indigenous and locally designed new modernization cargo documentation processing system christened B-ODOGWU.
At the launching base on Wednesday, October 23, 2024, in the Ports and Multipurpose Terminal Limited (PTML) RoRo Area command of the service, the take-off of the pilot scheme, the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (CGC), Bashir Adewale Adeniyi MFR, who was on ground to launch the new scheme, had fruitful engagement with all categories of stakeholders in the industry, as they jaw-jaw on the need to fully embrace the new documentation process which provides for a more effective customs tool with much less ambiguity.
Flagging off the pilot scheme, the Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi expressed confidence that the initiative will end up a success as he explained that the service is poised to learn from whatever start-up hiccups may arise, proceed to retool and with undivided commitment make it a success and thereafter, escalate its application in all port commands.
Addressing the media after a motivational session with his officers and men at the PTML Command, Adeniyi said the development also signals the end of Webb Fontaine contract with the service, as well as the beginning of the scrapping of NICSIS II, the last cargo documentation module developed by the ICT firm.
According to the CGC, although Webb Fontaine’s contract with the service has officially lapsed since December 2021, the firm has continue to provide the services it was contracted to give, despite doing so below expected capacity, which he explained had become a source of grief for the service and stakeholders.
However, the CGC noted that B-Odogwu is a child of necessity that the service technical team responded to in a rather robust manner, making the NCS a proud developer of an important trade application which name will henceforth resonate within the World Customs Organisation as an indigenous trade tool. He explained that B-Odogwu is a product of both the NCS and Customs Trade Modernization Project (TMP).
“This platform is a product of direct collaboration between Nigeria Custom Service and the Trade Modernization Projects team (TMP). And I’m happy that I have with me the chairman of TMP, Alhaji Sale Ahmadu, who is also here with his team.
“This approach was necessitated by our experiences with previous service providers who, despite multiple contract extensions, failed to meet their deliverables and effect the expected handover at the end of their contract period, while we would have preferred a different outcome to those contracts, this situation has strengthened our resolve to develop indigenous solutions that truly serve our needs.
According to the CGC, the recently launched homegrown automated platform, B’Odogwu, a unified Management System is expected to further boost an enhanced trade efficiency.
This upgraded modernization process of the service starting with a pilot phase in Lagos at Port & Terminal Multi-Services Limited (PTML) is expected to put to rest the numerous complaints associated with NICIS II, whose platform was marred with incessant server breakdown, made worse with the lackluster attitudes of the providers, Web fountain.
During his address to newsmen at PTML Command, the Comptroller General of Customs (CGC), Adewale Adeniyi, stated that the innovative platform represents a significant milestone in Nigeria Customs’ modernisation journey, aligning with global best practices.
In his words, “B’Odogwu is our new customs management system that embodies our vision for a paperless customs administration that facilitates seamless trade while maintaining robust security measures.”
“It is important to note that B’Odogwu will eventually replace the current Nigeria Integrated Customs Information System (NICIS II) as the NCS Legacy System. The system has been developed with foresight, acknowledging that the National Single Window will be coming on board soon, and B’Odogwu will be integrated with it when implemented by the Federal Government”, he stated.
He however also acknowledged that the initiative is fully supported by the legal framework provided in the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023. “Specifically, sections 28 and 29 of the Act empower the Service to develop, maintain, and employ electronic systems while ensuring transparency and stakeholder consultation.”
Speaking further, the CGC urged stakeholders to embrace the change with optimism and provide constructive feedback that will help improve the system.
“As we commence this pilot, I urge all stakeholders to embrace this change with optimism and provide constructive feedback that will help us refine and improve the system, as your input is crucial to the success of this initiative.”
“B’Odogwu will enhance our ability to streamline end-to-end business processes, provide stakeholders with customized integration capabilities, support more efficient and intelligent business decisions, and facilitate ease of doing business.”
The Comptroller General expressed gratitude to terminal operators, customs officers, licensed customs agents, and the Trade Modernisation Project team for their support and commitment to the project’s success.
He charged officers of the PTML command to take training associated with the initiative seriously as they will implement it in other commands. “You will now play the role of pace setters in the Nigeria Customs Service. It is being sown here; we are going to nurture it to fruition here, and we want to assure you that it is going to work.”
The system’s development is a collaborative effort between the Nigeria Customs Service and the Trade Modernisation Project team.
The choice of PTML Command for the pilot scheme was according to the CGC necessitated by the vibrant posture posed in terms of trade facilitation processes, noting that the command is leading in that aspect, as it has record remarkable success in cargo clearance time.
He however commended the Comptroller TM Daniyan led management team and his officers and men for their efforts so far and their readiness to be a pacesetter in the pilot of the wholly indigenous modernisation platform
+ There are no comments
Add yours