Amid the declined volume of trade currently experienced in the Country, Apapa Command of the Nigeria Customs Service recorded another revenue collection milestone by generating N16,021,660,412.00 (Sixteen billion, twenty-one million, six hundred and sixty thousand, four hundred and twelve naira) into government coffer on February 23, 2024.
The figure according to a statement signed by CSC Abubakar Usman, spokesman for the Command, has become the highest daily revenue collection in the history of the command surpassing N11.3bn revenue collected on November 22, 2023, and N10bn on August 3, 2023.
To him it was a laudable feat in the face of declined volume of trade and this was achieved as a result of strategic weekly meetings between the Customs Area Command(CAC) and sectional heads to review and evaluate success and challenges with a view to continually improving on the command’s achievements.
There have also been more regular stakeholder engagments between the command, sister government agencies, importers, exporters, terminal operators, and all others involved in the cargo clearance and supply chain.
Under Comptroller Jaiyeoba, there are lots of remarkable improvement in the number of containers scanned to save time and operate in line with the expectations of modern customs administration.
Speaking on this feat, Customs Area Controller (CAC) of the Command, Comptroller Babajide Jaiyeoba who described the feat as one of the expected fallouts of the many strategies he has put in place, urged officers and men of the command to keep up the tempo of zero tolerance for infractions and non compromise for any violation of the Nigeria Customs Service Act (NCSA) 2023.
While commending the officers of the command for their dedication to duty exemplified through punctuality and integrity, the Area Controller urged importers, licensed customs agents and freight forwarders to embrace scanning as the Service under CGC Bashir Adewale Adeniyi MFR, is committed to maximize the deployment of ICT for trade facilitation.
He further emphasized sincere declaration as a mark of integrity that saves time and money, resulting in a win-win situation for everyone. He stated that “not making sincere declaration is poor business decision capable of causing delays, leading to issuance of demand notices and denying the declarants of the benefits of enjoying fast track and possible migration to Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) status”.
