The Apapa Port Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has collected N1,227,431,323,016.24 in revenue between January and July 2024.
This figure surpasses the command’s total revenue for the entire 2023, which stood at N1,172,414,793,960.32, demonstrating a significant improvement in revenue collection efficiency.
According to a press statement issued by the command spokesperson CSC Abubakar Usman, he said in July 2024 alone, the command collected an unprecedented N201,853,406,964.61, marking the highest monthly revenue collection in the history of the Nigeria Customs Service.
He said the Customs Area Controller of the Apapa Command, Comptroller Babatunde Olomu, expressed his commitment to maintaining and surpassing this record in the coming months.
Comptroller Olomu attributed this success to the diligent implementation of the Comptroller General of Customs’ directives, particularly the thrust of the Time Release Study which is aimed at facilitating trade without delays. This strategy, according to him, has been pivotal in achieving outstanding results in revenue collection.
“I am optimistic about the possibility of beating this record as we look forward to surpassing it in months to come,” said Comptroller Olomu. “For the first seven months of 2024, that is January to July this year, the Apapa Area Command generated a total of N1,227,431,323,016.24. What has been generated so far for seven months is above the total collected revenue by the command in 2023.”
He further stated that the revenue collection was boosted by interventions from the Tariff and Trade Department and the efforts of various units within the command, including the Compliance Desk, Dispute Resolution Team, Valuation, Post-Clearance Audit (PCA), and Customs Intelligence Unit (CIU).
These units the CAC noted, have been reinvigorated with regular evaluations to ensure seamless trade and effective revenue collection.
“We are committed to doing more in line with the directives and motivating examples of the Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi,” Comptroller Olomu stated.
He emphasized that the Apapa Command handles the highest volume of trade for the NCS and, consequently, carries a higher degree of expectation from both the management of the service and the government.
He added that in a bid to maintain smooth operations amidst nationwide protests, Comptroller Olomu met with stakeholders at the port, assuring them of customs availability for work during the period. This proactive measure has further strengthened the confidence of port users in the command’s ability to facilitate trade efficiently.
Comptroller Olomu also advised Apapa port users to embrace only legitimate trade practices and reiterated the command’s commitment to detecting and minimizing all forms of concealment and revenue leakage.
