ZAINAB JUNAID
The Deputy Comptroller-General in charge of Tariff and Trade for the Nigeria Customs Service, DCG Caroline Niagwan said the Service has successfully generated N2.742trillion in the first half of 2024, which represents 54 percent of the revenue target for the year.
DCG Caroline disclosed this on Wednesday, 10 July 2024, while giving account of the significant strides made by the Service to the House Committee on Customs and Excise.
The House Committee had embarked on oversight visit to the Service’s Headquarters in Abuja, to review and monitor their activities and also ensure they are achieving expected results.
DCG Niagwan said the service was able to generate 2.742trillion naira within the first half of 2024, surpassing the first half of the year’s expected revenue target of 2.539trillion naira, representing 54 percent of the revenue target for the year.
To her, “In the period under review, the average daily revenue collection has been 27.5 billion naira daily, surpassing the target of 19.460 billion naira.
“The service has achieved a 126.64 percent increase within the first half of the year due to teamwork and measures put in place to block revenue leakages. We have an outstanding 2.168 trillion to collect.”
She equally revealed that for the service to align with international best practices, trade facilitation tools have been upgraded to Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Programs where reliable and compliant traders are rewarded for taking their goods with little or no customs control when they meet specific safety and security standards.
Also engaging the Committee was Deputy Comptroller-General in charge of Enforcement, Inspection and Investigation, Bello Jibo, who revealed that ‘Operation Whirlwind’ a tactical team initiated to check excesses of smugglers, had made a lot of seizures of petroleum products. He revealed that NCS is collaborating with the NNPC to achieve so much.
“On the issue of security, the CGC held a press conference in Onne, Port-Harcourt, where a container fully loaded with arms and ammunition was arrested by our officers, which was later handed over to the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA). We collaborate and exchange intelligence among ourselves to enhance our activities.’’ DCG Jibo stated.
Similarly, the Assistant-Comptroller General in charge of Information and Communication Technology, Kikelomo Adeola, revealed that unit officers built the application for the e-auction. She stated that capacity-building programs are ongoing as part of the deliverables of the Trade Modernization Project, in addition to the provision of software and hardware components of the exercise.
