At National Day celebration: NW Customs sector reaffirms commitment to boost national unity.

It was during the 53rd edition of the National Day celebration, which took place on Tuesday May 20. This year's celebration took place under the theme: "Army and nation, united for a Cameroon turned towards peace and prosperity".

The event, which involved both military and civilian march past, took place at the Bamenda Commercial Avenue grandstand under the watchful eyes of the Governor of the North West Region, Adolphe Lele Lafrique, and other personalities.

NW Customs fostering unity 

Immediately after the official ceremony at the grandstand, the North West Customs Chief of Sector, Epie Jerome, organised a special feast with his close collaborators and elements. During the feast, Epie Jerome revealed their commitment in accompanying the government in fostering peace and unity in the nation.

According to the North West Customs Sector boss, this year's National Day theme falls in line with the mission of the Customs with regards to national unity.

"The missions of the Customs administration ties with the theme of national unity," Epie Jerome said. 

Naming some of the key points in their mission, Epie cited border security. According to him, Customs protects the borders by ensuring that illicit goods, and arms do not enter the country. 

This, he said, is very important in the North West Region, where there is a lot of threat to peace. These harmful goods, he said, include guns, which can be used to threaten the security of the country, and other illicit goods like tramadol, which destroy the youth.

"The customs protects all the borders, and by doing so, illicit goods and persons who come to commit crimes won't enter. We understand that illicit drugs like tramadol destroy our youth, and once they are destroyed, they will not engage in crimes which are threats to national unity," Epie Jerome said.

Another mission of the Customs which ties with this year's theme is that of trade facilitation. According to the North West Customs boss, they also work in the regulation and normalisation of prices of goods that are coming and going out of the country. This, he said, goes a long way to encourage equal employment and avoids exploitation.

"The Customs officers are there to regulate and facilitate trade. We make sure that we create a level ground for everyone, making sure that no one takes advantage of another. Once there's peace, there will employment, which fosters the national unity of the country," Epie added.

According to Epie, collection of revenue is another mission of the Customs which equally falls in line with the 2025 National Day theme. He said the revenue collected by the Customs are usually added to the budget of the state, which is used in fostering peace and development, by building schools, hospitals, roads and others.

During the celebration, the North West Customs Sector boss also revealed that as at May 15, 2025, Customs of the region had already recorded over 350 million FCFA as revenue collected.

While congratulating his collaborators and officers for all what they have been doing, Epie said their ambition is to hit a record closer to a billion FCFA before the end of the year. This, he said, will be a breakthrough because the sector has never recorded a billion FCFA in terms of revenue.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3453 of Friday May 23, 2025