FOU ‘C’ DECORATES 67 PROMOTED OFFICERS, URGES THEM ON INTEGRITY AND PROFESSIONALISM

By Okey Iroegbu 

"Promotion in the Service is not a routine exercise; it is a reward for hard work, loyalty, and commitment to duty. It also comes with greater responsibilities and expectations. For those being decorated today, this recognition is a call to higher performance, integrity, and leadership," these were the passionate words from Comptroller Birshir Abdullahi Balogun, the Customs Area

Controller of Federal Operations Unit FOU Zone 'C' Owerri of Nigeria Customs Service. The Customs Area Controller CAC has urged the 67 newly promoted officers

of the Unit to strictly uphold the core values of the Service comprising integrity, transparency, and professionalism. With the information reaching this media from the Unit headquarters at Owerri, Imo State, the Controller also urged the officers to see their promotion as a reward for diligence, hard work and

excellent service to the Nigeria Customs Service and the Nigerian nation as a whole. A breakdown of the 67 promoted officers shows that three officers were elevated from the rank of Assistant Comptroller to Deputy Comptroller while one officer was elevated to the rank of Assistant Comptroller from the former rank of Chief Superintendent of Customs. Four officers were elevated from the rank of Superintendent to Chief Superintendent while seven others were promoted to the rank of Superintendent from the former rank of Deputy Superintendent of Customs.  Others are 15 officers who were promoted from the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Customs 1 to Deputy Superintendent. 17 others were elevated to the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Customs 1 from Assistant

Superintendent II, while 18 officers were promoted to the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Customs II from Inspector of Customs, just as two officers were promoted from the rank of Assistant Inspector of Customs to Inspector of Customs, bringing to a total of 67 promoted officers. The Federal Operations Unit, no doubt is an interventionist unit, policing not only the Importers/Exporters and

Freight Forwarders but even the the Customs officers too. He therefore advised the officers that the Unit requires diligence and thoroughness in carrying out their duties. “The Federal Operations Unit is a critical arm of the Service and the nation expect us to continue to strengthen anti smuggling operations, revenue recovery, and trade facilitation,” Balogun said. He, as usual expressed gratitude to the Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, MFR and his management team for ensuring that hard work and merit were rewarded, while also expressing appreciation to the families and colleagues who supported the newly promoted officers. “To those who didn’t get promoted this time, I encourage you to be strong and prepare harder next time,” he concluded.