2019: Nigeria Customs Exceed Revenue Target, Hit N7bn Daily
By UDO ONYEKA
The Nigeria Customs Service has said that it now collects N7 billion daily as revenue, even as the service has announced that it generated the sum of N1, 341,690,568,327.18 for the year 2019.
National Public Relations Officer of Customs, Joseph Attah, in a press statement issued in Lagos on Thursday said the amount generated is over the target of N937,286,121,586.00 set for the year 2019 and by N139,241,835,082.29 surpass the sum of N1,202,448,733,244.89 generated in 2018.
The service said that the partial border closure has forced cargoes that could have been smuggled through the porous borders to come through the sea and airports and this has in turn raised revenue collection from ports.
Before the commencement of the border drill on 20th August 2019, revenue generation was between N4 billion to N5 billion but now, Customs generate between N5 billion to N7 billion daily.
Commenting on this feat, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col, Hameed Ibrahim Ali (Rtd) was reported to have described it as a result of resolute pursuit of what is right rather than being populist by compromising national interest on the altar of individual or group interests.
“The service revenue generation profile has continued to be on the rise annually as the ongoing reforms in the Service insists on: Strategic deployment of officers strictly using the standard operating procedure.
“Strick enforcement of extant guidelines by the tariff and trade department. Automation of the Customs process thereby eliminating vices associated with the manual process.
“Robust stakeholder sensitization resulting in more informed/voluntary compliance. Increased disposition of officers and men to put national interest above selves”
“The partial border closure is a decisive action against the challenging issue of trans-border crime and criminalities, fueled by the noncompliance to ECOWAS Protocol on transit of goods by neigbhouring Countries”
“NCS hopes that the ongoing discussions with our neighbours will yield permanent solution to the challenges of border security”
“The Service wishes to express its readiness to strictly implement the outcome of the ongoing diplomatic engagements”
“In the same vein the Service efforts to prevent the entry of items that could compromise the Security of our citizens, National Economy and the wellbeing of our people resulted in the seizures of 30,906 assorted items with a duty paid value of N62,134,426,199.00”
“These seizures include arms, ammunitions, illicit drugs, used clothing, vegetable oil, frozen poultry and foreign rice among others that have grave consequences on economy security and wellbeing of Nigerians,” the statement concluded.
