By: Comptroller Auwal Mohammed
The Apapa Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service today Tuesday announced that it collected over N212 billion revenue in the first quarter of 2023.
The area controller of the command, Comptroller Auwal Muhammed disclosed this while briefing Newsmen on his command’s scorecard in the last three months said the amount was realised despite a drop in importation occasioned by the just concluded general elections.
In his words: “I am delighted to meet with you once again after the very engaging and fruitful interface we had on the day I assumed duty in January, taking over from my predecessor, to acquaint you with the command’s scorecard in the last three months (January-March 2023).
According to him: “Our functions of revenue generation and collection, suppression of smuggling and facilitating legitimate trade have been consistently implemented within the first three months of 2023.
“While I am meeting with various stakeholders and partner government agencies to ensure the tempo of compliance is sustained and improved upon, the command stood forthright in foiling attempts at smuggling prohibited items into and out of the country.
He continues: On the revenue, Comptroller Auwal said, “The command recorded a total collection of two hundred and twelve billion, five hundred and ninety-two million, six hundred and eighty thousand, seven hundred naira, ninety-nine kobo (N212,592,680,700.99) covering January-March 2023.
“For export trade, the command processed agricultural goods such as sesame seeds, ginger, hibiscus, mineral resources, steel ingot and others with a total tonnage of 110,448 metric tonnes in the first quarter of 2023.
On the Statistics, the Controller said that from the export report shows that the exported goods are worth seventy billion, two hundred million, eight hundred and twenty-nine thousand, three hundred and fifty-eight naira, sixty-seven kobo (N70,200,829,358.67) which
is equivalent to Free on Board (FOB) value of $159,845,232.84
“Our resolve to enforce government fiscal policies and extant laws to ensure that all import and export consignments transiting through Apapa Port are duly examined has been strengthened through effective collaboration and timely sharing of credible intelligence with sister government agencies in the port.
Within the period under review, the command made seizures of fourteen (14) containers comprising of prohibited items such as vegetable oil, footwears, used clothing, unprocessed wood, and tramadol tablets with a Duty Paid Value of twenty-two billion, ninety-nine million, six hundred and eighteen thousand, one hundred and eleven naira (N22,099,618,111.00).
“It is pertinent to mention that on Friday, 31 March 2023, we uncovered a large quantity of 225mg of tramadol tablets concealed in 2x40ft container numbers TRHU 4758549 and TRHU 6936803 where one hundred and forty-three million, eight hundred thousand (143,800,000) tablets of Tramadol 225mg were discovered in 720 cartons weighing 10.3 tonnes (10,386kg) that originated from India.
“This single seizure is valued
at twenty-one billion, six hundred million naira (N21,600,000,000.00).
We are on the look-out for those behind such unlawful importation for arrest and very soon we will track them down to face the full wrath of the law. As a service, we owe Nigerians the duty to prevent this kind of importation from
entering the market to safeguard the health of the citizenry.
“Let me use this opportunity to warn perpetrators of smuggling, duty evasion and other forms of criminality frowned upon by the Customs and Excise
Management Act (CEMA) and other extant laws, that Apapa Command will only facilitate legitimate trade.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT/INTER AGENCY COLLABORATION
Since my assumption of duty here, I have been meeting with various stakeholder groups comprising importers, exporters, licensed agents, freight forwarders, and others. I am happy to note that these meetings are yielding good results and will be sustained in days ahead.
In this command, he said “we have a deliberate culture of inter-agency collaboration with other government organizations. Within this first three months, I have enjoyed robust sharing of credible intelligence and support from other agencies of government.
On this note, I want to respectfully extend my profound appreciation to the CGC, Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (Rtd) CFR and his Management team for their untiring support, government agencies in the port for collaboration and synergy, Officers and men of Apapa Command for their determined resilience.
Finally, I must also thank you, my friends from the media. You are strategic in passing out our messages to stakeholders and the general public. Your role in enlightening people about compliance and deterring them from unlawful activities is invaluable.