Apapa Customs generates N1.2tn revenue in 7 months

The Apapa Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has generated N1.2 trillion as revenue between January and July 2024.

The Customs Area Controller of Apapa Command, Comptroller Babatunde Olomu, disclosed this in a statement issued by the Public Relations Officer, Usman Abubakar, on Wednesday, August 7, 2024.

Olumu said he was committed to surpassing the existing records of revenue collection, noting that the command collected N201.8 billion in July 2024, being its highest monthly collection in the history of the NCS.

He said the revenue generated in seven months was higher than the total revenue collected for 12 months in 2023.

The Customs official attributed the success to his implementation of the Time Release Study (TRS) thrust by the Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adeniyi, to facilitate trade.

Olomu said the move yielded outstanding results, which he noted reflected in the command’s revenue collection.

Olomu said: “I am optimistic about the possibility of beating this record as we look forward to surpassing it in months to come.

“From January to July 2024, Apapa Area Command generated a total of N1.22 billion above the total revenue collected by the command in 12 months of 2023, which was N1.17 trillion.

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“In clear terms, our 2024 seven months collection is above last year’s twelve months’ total collection.”

The Customs Area Controller further stated that the interventions from the Tariff and Trade Department also contributed immensely to the successes achieved by the command.

He added: “Our compliance desk, dispute resolution team, Valuation, PCA, CIU, and other units aimed at promoting seamless trade have been reinvigorated with daily, weekly and monthly evaluation to oversee the progress we are making.

“We are committed to doing more in line with the directives and motivating examples of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, MFR.”

Olomu said Apapa Command handled the highest volume of trade for Customs, collected the highest revenue, and was saddled with a higher degree of expectation from the management of the service and the government.

Olomu urged Apapa port users to embrace legitimate trade, adding that Apapa Command was more alive to its responsibilities to detect all forms of concealment and plug any avenue for revenue leakage to the barest minimum.

The Star