
Esther Oritse
Lagos — The Nigeria Customs Service, NCS and the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency, NESREA, yesterday opened discussions to establish a unified approach to environmental sustainability, reinforcing their commitment to a greener and more sustainable future.
In a statement issued at the end of a visit by the management of NESREA to the Headquarters of the Customs Service, its Director General, Dr. Innocent Barikor said that both institutions have agreed on the need to build greater synergy particularly at the ports.
Strategies for seamless processing and verification of environmental documents such as the import clearance, the integration of NESREA’s online portal into the recently developed B’odogwu platform and the mechanism for sharing information on the enforcement of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITIES) were discussed.
In the statement signed by Nwamaka Ejiofor, stated that a committee will be set up for easy execution of the decisions taken.
Dr. Barikor seized the opportunity to intimate the Comptroller General of Customs, Mr. Adewale Adeniyi and his team on the Federal Government Ban on Single Use Plastics in an effort to promote Circular Economy in the country as well as tackle plastic pollution.
In his reaction to development, Mr. Adeniyi said the Service was committed to entrenching sustainability into its operations and enforcing standards in line with the Green Customs Action Plan of the World Customs Organisation (WCO).