The Apapa Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has reported an increase of 143% in its revenue collections in the first half of this year when compared to the N421.38 billion it raked in as gross revenue in the corresponding period of last year.
The Customs Area Controller of the Command, Mr. Babatunde Olomu, who gave this figure during a media briefing on Monday, said the Command was able to grow its revenue during the period despite a huge drop in trade volume, stressing that the revenue agency is revving up its strategies to facilitate merchandize trade nationwide.
He said: “Our efforts have been mainly targeted at preventing revenue losses, improving ease of doing business, and engaging stakeholders.
“We have implemented measures to prevent government revenue loss by using a blend of intelligence and community relations”, Olomu added.
According to him, during the half year the Command intercepted 11 containers with regulated items, including expired drugs, contrabands and frozen birds worth N424 million compared to 42 seizures with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N1.4 billion in the first half of 2023.
The Area Controller explained that the Command uncovered a large quantity of expired and unregistered pharmaceuticals in three 40 feet containers as well as another three 40 feet containers loaded with 7,500 cartons of frozen poultry products that were unhealthy for consumption.
He pointed out that the smuggled items violated Schedule Three of the revised Import Prohibition list of the Common External Tariff (CET) and Section 233 of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023.
While commending the Comptroller General of the Service, Mr. Adewale Adeniyi, for his support for the Area Command, Olomu, partly linked the feat recorded by the Area Command in the review perios to support from other agencies, including the Nigeria Police, Department of State Services (DSS), National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON), and the Nigerian Army.
On the Command’s anti-smuggling operations, the Area Controller explained that in line with the Comptroller General of Customs directive, the command had reformed the management of cargoes moving from mother ports to bonded terminals by ensuring strict oversight, adding that no cargo can exit the command’s area of operation without thorough scanning.
