The Apapa Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says that it has collected N1 trillion as revenue between January and May this year.
The command said in a statement by the command’s Public Relations Officer, Tunde Ayagbalo, in Lagos that the figure was a landmark achievement in the history of the NCS.
“The command’s revenue collection table shows a total of N1tn,” the statement said.
The Customs Area Controller in charge of the command, Babatunde Olomu, attributed the success to a combination of leadership direction of the Comptroller General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, in blocking areas of revenue leakages and the diligent discharge of functions on the part of officers and men in the area command.
Olomu noted that “hitting the N1tn revenue before the middle of the fifth month is a confirmation of the command’s readiness to surpass the total of N2.3tn that was collected last year before December 2024.”
While commending the officers of the command for sustaining the rising tempo of work, Olomu called for increased efforts in ensuring maximum collection, suppression of smuggling through diligent cargo examination, and facilitation of lawful trade.
The CAC urged the officers to sustain and improve the act of intelligence sharing, robust interactions, cooperation with sister government agencies, and regular stakeholder engagements to achieve more and contribute to the nation’s economic well-being.
Olomu said the policy thrust of the CGC, which includes deployment of a Unified Customs Management System, also known as B’Odogwu, has shown prospects for higher productivity by the command.
He said that with the ongoing training of licensed customs agents and freight forwarders ahead of the full deployment of B’Odogwu, the command’s chances of surpassing the 2024 collection and meeting 2025 targets are higher.
GIK/APA