The diligence of a Deputy Comptroller (DC) of Customs, F. C Nwanze, in securing the Apapa Premier Port against all kinds of smuggling activities, knows no bounds according to the assessment of stakeholders
By Innocent Chukwu
He comes early to work and leaves office late. He makes sure everything is tidied up for the day before he departs the office to ensure that nothing that is needed to be done is left undone. That is how discreet he is. This is a unique attitude to work he had adopted since he joined the Service, and it helps him to achieve enviable results wherever he worked.
At the office, before commencing each day’s activities, he prays, he meditates, and commits the activities of the day in the hands of the Almighty. That is the stuff of the legendary anti-smuggling czar at the Apapa Premier Port Customs Enforcement Unit, Deputy Comptroller F C Nwanze.
Deputy Comptroller Nwanze appears gentle and talks softly, but when it comes to discharging his assigned duties at the Apapa Premier Port Enforcement Unit, he turns into a die -hard patriot, his eagle eyes bulge to monitor any illicit activities in connection with the clearing of cargoes in the port.
Information pieced together by this medium indicates that DC Nwanze is a dependable Enforcement officer to the core. Some critical supporting allies of the Apapa Area 1 Customs Command said with Nwanze in charge of the Command’s Enforcement Unit, the Area Controller of the Command can be rest assured that no pin can leave the port if it did not pass through the due process of clearing.
Since DC Nwanze took over his new posting as the DC Enforcement, Apapa Customs Area Command, the Apapa Premier Port has been witnessing some measure of calm due to the diligence of the officers under his watch. Stakeholders said diligence and discipline are the guiding principles which are helping Nwanze and his team to combat smuggling activities in the port.
The stakeholders further said that when Nwanze served at the Seme Border Area Command, he was rated high by his superiors for his audacity and daring moves which put many die-hard smugglers on the run. Here at Apapa Port, they said the Enforcement Unit under him has achieved a watertight surveillance and security around the port to an extent that the business community is been compelled to be showing zero tolerance for wrong declaration, concealment or any form of manipulation in the course of clearing their goods out of the port in order to avoid the prying eyes of the Enforcement Unit. It is said that even the Comptroller General of Customs (CGC), Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, has taken notice of the diligence of DC Nwanze in securing Apapa Port and the nation at large. For example, it was gathered that during the CGC’s visit to the Command on Wednesday, April 17, 2024, he took special interest in DC Nwanze whom the former engaged in a warm handshake as a sign of saying, “well done, I can see your hand. Keep it up”.
The DC Enforcement, Apapa Premier Port, Nwanze is said to be a team player who relates with his subordinate officers as his own siblings. As a result, all officers and men under him feel dignified in some ways which motivates them to always seek to give their best to help the Command achieve zero tolerance for corrupt practices.
Those who are close to DC Nwanze said he is highly religious, and draws his inspiration from the Almighty God. They said he prays fervently for God’s guidance each day, and they also attribute his numerous feats in the Service to his closeness to his Maker. His admirers insist that if given higher callings in the future, he is able to achieve bigger results.
