As part of renewed efforts by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, SON, to strengthen port operations, deepen inter-agency collaboration, and enhance regulatory efficiency across maritime corridors, the newly appointed Head of Ports and Borders, Onne South-South/South-East Operations, Engr. Celestine Udenwa, has embarked on a series of courtesy and familiarization visits to key port stakeholders.
The visits, undertaken alongside a SON delegation, included strategic engagements with the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, Area II Command, Onne and the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, Rivers Port.
At the Area II Command, the SON delegation was received by senior officers of the Nigeria Customs Service led by the Customs Area Controller, Mr. A. M. Alkali and other management and operational officers of the Command.
The SON delegation to the Nigeria Customs Service was led by Engr. Celestine Udenwa, Head of Ports and Borders, Onne South-South/South-East Operations, and included Dr. Papaa Johnson Pongiri, Chief Standards Officer, and Dr. Johnson C. Obiaga, Special Adviser to the Director General/Chief Executive on South-South/South-East Operations, alongside other senior management and operational staff of the Organisation.
In his introductory remarks, Dr. Papaa Johnson explained that the visit followed recent leadership changes within SON’s Onne Operations and was intended to strengthen cooperation between both sister agencies for smoother regulatory processes. Speaking further, Engr. Udenwa expressed gratitude to the Director General/Chief Executive of SON, Dr. Ifeanyi Chukwunonso Okeke, for entrusting him with the responsibility of leading operations across the South-South and South-East maritime corridor and also thanked Controller Alkali for the warm reception accorded the team.
He emphasized the importance of collaboration and stakeholder engagement and reaffirmed SON’s statutory responsibility to ensure the quality and safety of regulated goods entering the Nigerian market.
