Nigeria: BAT Donates 10 Vehicles to Customs --to Help FG On Vision 2020

Source from:  Daily Trust (Abuja) 9 November 2007 11/12/2007

British American Tobacco (BAT) Nigeria limited, Wednesday in Abuja donated 10 Ford Ranger 4WD trucks worth N42 million to Nigerian Customs Service, NCS to aid their operational activities. BAT also signed a Memorandum of Under-standing (MoU) with the NCS seeking coopera-tion and partnership with customs to help achieve their set objective. Speaking at the occasion, the Comptroller Ge-neral of the Nigerian Customs Service, Elder Jacob Gyang Buba, said government will not tolerate the subversion of its fiscal policies by private corporations in as much as it welcomes private sector partnerships. According to him, such partnerships must respect government fiscal policies, thus they should always operate within the ambits of government policies so as move the economy forward. "We know you have concerns, this govern-ment has a listening ear and would look into compl-ains and treat them accordingly, until that is done we expect that everyone works within the law," he said. Gyang expressed gratitude to BAT for the gesture and called on other private institutions to emulate BAT's gesture so they could form a synergy that will fight smuggling in order to improve the economy. "The private sector should emulate this gesture of collaborative efforts of BAT to fight the menace of smuggling and those doing damage to the economy by stunting the growth of the productive sector of the economy. Without these collaborative efforts, there is nothing much NCS can achieve," he said adding, that government will always create the enabling environment for such partnerships. The MoU, he said, was to enhance better co-operation and relationship with BAT. He pledged his willingness to respect contents of the agree-ment but warned against dogmatic approach to its implementation as other useful areas of purposeful cooperation could crop up elsewhere outside the MoU. "We will do our best to keep the MoU and any other issue that may arise that would make for better relationship and cooperation, so we as agencies of government and the private sector will help realise the vision 2020 dream of the federal government" he said. On the 48 hours clearance at the ports, Gyang also called for partnership from the private sector to help realise the objective. In his address, the Area Director, BAT Nigeria, Simon Welford, said much would be achieved where there is understanding and commitment to do what is right for Nigeria. The decision to donate the utility vehicles, he explained, was informed by the fact that "regu-latory agencies in the country face major challenges, which include inadequate logistics support, insufficient communication facilities and funding." "As stakeholders in the economy, we believe that regulatory efforts should not be left to government alone. The monitoring and enfor-cement efforts of critical agencies, like customs, need to be complemented by private sector colla-boration," he said. He said Nigeria stands to benefit from a well equipped customs that effectively protects the economy from sabotage and enforces security by providing maximum surveillance at the borders and similar point of entry. The MPU, he explained seeks a level playing field in the tobacco industry and for other manufactures seeking to invest in Nigeria. Welford commended customs efforts in the recent past to stopping banned goods from entering Nigeria, adding that it has shielded legitimate businesses from unfair trading operations. Customs "efforts in this regard, create employment opportunities and protect careers, revenues accruing to the government increases on a sustainable basis" he said. BAT began operations in the country since 2001 and has investment portfolio in Nigeria of about 200 million dollars to date. Enditem