The newly appointed Customs Area Controller of Tincan Island Port Command, Comptroller Joseph Anani, has wasted no time making his mark, launching a flurry of inspections, stakeholder meetings, and inter-agency visits in the early days of his tenure.

Anani began his stewardship with a hands-on tour of Customs formations and terminals across the Command, personally assessing facilities, officers’ working conditions, and the overall operational environment — a move that signaled his intent to lead from the front.

His first major stakeholder engagement brought together leading freight forwarding associations, including the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), and the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA), among others. The new controller used the forum to lay out a clear agenda built on compliance, professionalism, and partnership.

“We are setting a new tone anchored on compliance, collaboration, and service excellence,” Anani told stakeholders. “Every stakeholder has a role to play in making Tincan Island Port a model of trade facilitation and operational efficiency.”

He called for strict adherence to the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023, and warned that indiscipline and misconduct would not be tolerated under his watch.

Terminal operators received a pointed message as well — Anani urged them to upgrade infrastructure and expand operational capacity to attract more vessel traffic and boost the port’s competitiveness.

On the security front, the Comptroller paid courtesy visits to the Commissioner of Police for Port Authority (Western Command), CP Toyin Agbaminoja, and the NDLEA’s Commander of Narcotics, Solomon Omotosho. Both meetings produced commitments to intelligence sharing, coordinated enforcement, and a united front against drug trafficking and other transnational crimes at the nation’s busiest port.

Anani credited Comptroller-General of Customs Bashir Adewale Adeniyi for his appointment and pledged to build on the Service’s existing achievements, guided by the CG’s three-point policy thrust of Consolidation, Collaboration, and Innovation.