ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The Apapa Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service, has disclosed that the command collected a total of N676 billion as revenue between January and August 2023.
This was made known by the outgoing Customs Area Controller, Auwal Mohammed, during the handover ceremony to the incoming controller, Babajide Jaiyeoba, in Apapa on Tuesday.
Mohammed was redeployed out of Apapa ports a few weeks ago following his promotion to the rank of Assistant Controller General of Customs in charge of Technical Services at Customs Headquarters, Abuja.
Jaiyeoba, on the other hand, was transferred from Oyo/Osun command to Apapa.
Mohammed added that the command recorded its highest monthly and daily revenue in August.
He said, “A total of N136bn was collected as monthly revenue in August while N10bn was collected on 3rd of August, 2023 being the highest monthly and daily collections in the history of the Nigeria Customs Service.”
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According to Mohammed, some of the seizures recorded within the period under review include “N22bn worth of tramadol packed in 720 cartons containing 143.8 million units of 225mg tablets and weighing 10.3 tons”.
He added that the command handed over another 20 cartons of illicit drugs valued at N1.4bn to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency within the last eight months.
Mohammed further disclosed that teamwork, diligence, and zero compromise assisted in several operational successes the command recorded under his watch.
He urged the officers to continually prevent smuggling or importation of prohibited items.
The outgoing controller said, “The port is critical to the economy and national security; therefore, imports and export prohibition lists should be adhered to at all times.”
Mohammed applauded the officers of the command for the feat they achieved together while he was the CAC of Apapa.
Earlier in his address, Jaiyeoba said he came prepared for the task, which, according to him, included collection of revenue due to the government and the promotion of a culture of compliance in the command.
He called for the support of both the officers and stakeholders of the command to deliver on his promises to sustain the impressive revenue record of his predecessor.
Jaiyeoba further assured both the officers and stakeholders that he would run an open-door policy at the command, facilitate trade, and block revenue leakages.