CHINONYE ANYATONWU.
Barely few weeks the command declared their first quarter revenue generated, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Apapa Area 1 Command yet in April 2021 made the sum of N65,463,398,355.85 (Sixty five billion, four hundred and sixty three million, three hundred and ninety eight thousand, three hundred and fifty naira, eighty five kobo),which shows an increase of #25, 463,398,355,85,billion when compared to the collection of the same month in the previous year.
The figure shows with renewed commitment and intensified efforts by officers and men, indicating that the Command revenue drive shows an increase of 64 per cent.
The Customs Area Controller of the Command, Comptroller Yusuf Ibrahim Malanta, stated that, ” In line with the provision of extant laws, trade guidelines and Enforcement of government fiscal policy measures, the command was able to further strengthen its anti-smuggling operations against economic saboteurs through intelligence driven operations”.
The seizures made so far includes, 674 cartons of tramadol tablets in 225mg and 120mg, 805 cartons of codeine syrup in 100ml, laden in four 40foot containers at APM Terminal and Sifax 3 bonded terminal respectively.
Others items in the period under review includes two containers of unprocessed wood, one container of scrap copper wire.
The duty paid value of the seized items stood at one billion,seven hundred and sixty million, five hundred and six thousand, three hundred and sixty- three naira(#1,760,506,363.00).
According to the image maker of the command, DSC Usman Modibo, said that the measure is part of a one stop system that also ensures dispute resolution and online real time monitoring of transactions to reduce incidences of infraction line with global best practice.
Comptroller Malanta while presenting his first quarter analysis of total collection of N159, 582,047,134.11 for 2021 as Customs duty and other charges, shows a 44.8% increase higher than the amount of money collected in the first three months of last year, 2020 respectively.
He added that Comptroller Yusuf has also stepped up stakeholder engagements by interacting robustly with importers, exporters, licensed customs agents, freight forwarders and other port users since assuming office.
This, he pointed out that, one of the vital changes and improvements the Controller has put in place is to ensure quicker cargo clearance and the reduced cases of delays caused by unresolved disputes, he added.
According to him, some of the unique benefits of this is the tendency to block possible areas of revenue leakages, collection of maximum revenue for government, save port users’ time and fight smuggling under any guise, even as the Controller’s leadership has scored record high, create enabling environment to make the port more business friendly.
Compt. Malanta also said that the achievements were made possible because of the officers resilience and tireless commitment to their duties,” we have taken bold initiatives and steps to ensure the collection of appropriate revenue by creating an enabling environment for legitimate businesses to thrive”.
He appreciated the effort of officers and men of his command, ” On behalf of officers and men of Apapa command, we extend our profound appreciation to the Comptroller General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (rtd), and his management team for their continuous support and encouragement.
DSC Abubakar Usman Modibo therefore explained that there is an unprecedented record of what the Controller has achieved in revenue collection, seizures made as part of his Anti smuggling and high level of compliance by stakeholders drive, which include faster clearance of cargoes from the port, he added.
