Graduands of the Nigeria Customs Command and Staff College, Gwagwalada, FCT, pose for photo with the CGC Hameed Ali and other dignitaries during their graduation ceremony, charged to be NCS ambassadors.
The Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Ahmed,has charged graduates of the Customs Command and Staff College, Gwagwalada, to henceforth be ambassadors of the college wherever they are posted to serve.
Ahmed gave the charge on Friday in Abuja at the combined graduation ceremony of officers of Senior Course 5 and Junior Course 11 from the college.
While congratulating the graduands on successfully completing their training at the institution, the minister reminded them that the knowledge they had acquired would be tested in so many ways.
“I believe your participation in this course has improved you both in character and learning.
“As you begin the journey as trained staff officers, you are expected to guide, facilitate and assist your superior officers to function smoothly at every level.
“You must be conscious of the fact that you are now ambassadors of the college and the training you have received would be tested in so many ways, ” she said.
Ahmed who was represented by the Comptroller-General of customs, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd), charged the officers to use the training that they had received to contribute their part towards improving the service.
While speaking in his capacity as Customs Comptroller-General, Ali commended the Commandant of the college, Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs, ACG Adewale Adeniyi and staff for successfully conducting the combined graduation.
He urged the graduands to put into practice the skills they had acquired to justify the resources and time spent to train them in the college and assured the Commandant that the College Board and NCS Management would continue to support the college to meet its mandate.
Ali added that NCS would continue to invest in human capacity development through regular training, especially in the area of technology, stressing that the use of technology would help track and trace illicit goods and movement.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Commandant of the College, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, an Assistant Comptroller General of Customs, ACG, said the college was operating under a challenging environment, such as poor power supply which had put pressure on the college power generator.
He expressed appreciation for the Comptroller-General’s approval for the purchase of one 1000 KVA and one 1500 KVA generators for the college towards addressing the power supply challenge.
Adeniyi added that the NCS was also working hard to provide solar power source to the college, so as to guarantee steady power supply.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a total of 78 officers graduated during the ceremony.
While 38 of them from the Senior Course 5 graduated were awarded the “Pass Senior Staff Course” (psc), 40 from the Junior Court 11 bagged the “Pass Junior Staff Course (pjsc). (NAN)
