Sokoto — President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua has charged the Nigerian Customs Service to redouble its efforts at ensuring legitimate trade facilitation and strive towards attaining 48-hour clearance for cargo at the ports and border stations across the country.

He also challenged the Service to reduce the cost of doing business by making clearance faster, adding that most foreign investors globally are in dire need of speedy and effective procedures of goods clearance at any receiving country.

Yar'Adua, who was represented by Sokoto State Governor, Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko, gave the charge yesterday, during the opening ceremony of the 2007 comptroller General's Annual Conference held at Sokoto State Polytechnic Auditorium, Sokoto.

He said the time taken to get consignments out of the ports must be reduced from the current average of two weeks to two days, pointing out that it is the norm in most countries of the world.

"It has become imperative for the Nigerian Customs Service to reduce the cost of doing business in the country by ensuring efficiency in its operations and service delivery, because it is currently the vogue globally," he said.

According to him, the theme of the conference which is "Towards Attaining 48 Hour Clearance," conforms with government desire to simplify and shorten time spent at our seaports and land border stations for goods clearance.

He said the Service recorded tremendous success in its operations, especially in combating smuggling, despite all the odds millitatiing against its revenue generation capacity.