By Bayo Bernard
Mohammed Uba Garba’s confirmation as Assistant Comptroller of Customs, ACG took time in coming, one year after the customs officer got promoted to the rank of Acting ACG by the authority of the Nigerian Customs Service, NCS.
In spite of this, watchers of the service informed the magazine that the promotion could not have come at a better time, particularly as it is well deserved and rewarding for a committed officer who has spent many years serving his country, not looking back in the face of adversity, that sometimes challenged officers’ audacity to excel in the course of their duty as defenders of our borders against economic saboteurs.
But ACG Mohammed has always insisted, that his meteoric rise in the Service could not be adduced to sheer handwork, experience and astuteness, rather the credit goes God who has nurtured his career in the NCS for many years, through thick and thin, to where he now serves as Zonal Co-ordinator, NCS Zone B, Kaduna.
Since fortunes favour the brave, many say, Mohammed’s long history of performance has always positioned him for the right place at the right time. Therefore, it was not difficult for Col. Hameed Ali (rtd) the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS to spot him following his appointment as the head of the Service by President Muhammadu Buhari after he came to power in 2015.
“The CG, as you all know him is not cut out for mediocrity. All that matters to him is performance. As long as he’s sure that you have the capacity to perform, he goes for you without looking back,” a top customs officer, close to the CG said when he was asked to speak on the appointment of officers into sensitive positions in the NCS.
That, obviously, stakeholders in the transport and logistic sector insist have defined the deployment of ACG Mohammed to sensitive posts in the NCS in the last five years, to the current position of Zonal Coordinator, Zone B, Kaduna where he has brought his Midas touch to fore to turn things around to the marvel of his bosses in Abuja.
Before he was moved to Kaduna, Mohammed, popular as UBA, among the rank and files of NCS had a short spell at the Service’s headquarters in Abuja as ACG E,I &I, where “he brought his experience to the fore to re-organise the place and put things in order in line with the CG’s vision,” an officer in the Department informed the magazine on Tuesday.
According to the source who said his name should not be mentioned because he was not authorised to speak to the media, “it was based on his performance in E, I&I that the CG took the decision to deploy him to the North West Zone as Zonal Co-ordinator to turn things around there. And as you can see, ACG Mohammed has again proved his mettle again as a performer even in the midst of adversity and challenges. He’s prepared to go anywhere duty called.”
According to a statement by the Deputy National Public Relations Officer of Customs, Timi Bomodi, on Monday, Mohammed made the list of 11 ACGs confirmed by the NCS Board which also includes Hamza Gumi, Mohammed Abba-Kura, Saidu Galadima, Gimba Umar, Obi Ekwealor, Bede Anyanwu, Kayode Olusemire, Lena Oyama, Florence Inuk and Lami Wushishi.
Mohammed enlisted into the NCS in the Superintendent Cadre in 1988 and years after rose to the rank of Comptroller in 2015.
He has held different posts including O/C Export in TCIP, O/C Gate Onne Area II, Port Harcourt from 2004-2008. He was DC Valuation-Lilypond between 2009 to 2010, DC Import, KLT, TCIP and Ogun Area command between 2010-2013.
As a full comptroller in 2015 Mohammed served at Zone “A” Headquarters, Lagos, Tariff and Trade Headquaters, Comptroller, Posting HQ- January to Oct, 2016.
He became Comptroller FOU zone “C” Owerri from October 2016 to May 2017 before his deployment on May 18 2017 to the Federal Operations Unit, Zone “A” Ikeja, Lagos.
ACG Mohammed has attended courses locally and internationally. He’s an expert in Valuation and Enforcement.
