Opening of the Nigeria Customs Staff College/WCO Regional Training Centre

Abuja, 8 December 2011

Report

At the invitation of the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Mr. Dikko Inde Abdullahi, WCO Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya attended the opening ceremony of the Nigeria Customs Staff College which has also been designated as a WCO Regional Training Centre (RTC).

The Staff College and the RTC were officially inaugurated by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, himself a former Customs officer, in the presence of many dignitaries from Nigeria and surrounding countries.

During the Regional Meeting of Directors General held in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, in March 2011, it was decided that the Staff College would be the home of the third RTC for the West and Central Africa region. The Memorandum of Understanding with the WCO was signed during the June 2011 Council Sessions.

In his speech, the Secretary General referred to the importance of this new WCO RTC for the entire West and Central Africa region, with its 23 Members. Training in both official languages of the WCO – English and French – would be offered at the new RTC.

The Secretary General looked forward to regional workshops and seminars being held at the excellent facilities in the new RTC, and to the RTC playing a leading role in fostering a knowledge-based, service-oriented culture and professionalism among Customs officers in the West and Central Africa region.

Click here to read the President of Nigeria’s opening address.