The Murtala Muhammed Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service, under the leadership of Comptroller Michael Toyin Awe, today Wednesday, November 20, 2024, declared an amazing revenue increase generated in the Command to the tune of One Hundred and Forty-Four Billion, Two Hundred and Two Million, Five Hundred and Sixty-Six Thousand, Nine Hundred and Seventy Five Naira (N144,202, 566, 975.00K) within the period under review from January to October 2024; while the total Duty Paid Value (DPV) of seized items amounting to Three Billion, Three hundred and Twenty-two million, Two hundred and thirty-nine thousand, Three hundred and Fifty-five Naira (N3,322,239,355.00K) between July to October 2024.
The Area Controller, Awe made this statement when he was addressing the press men at his Command.
Controller Awe stated that there was depicting 94% increase when compared to the revenue collected in the same period in 2023 which stood at Seventy-four Billion, Two hundred and Eighty-six Million, Seven hundred and Seven Thousand, Four Hundred and Forty-three Naira only (N74,286,707,443.00K), this he said clearly shows a progressive difference of Sixty-Nine Billion, Nine Hundred and Fifteen Million, Eight Hundred and Fifty-Nine Thousand, Five Hundred and Thirty-One Naira (N69,915,859,531.00k).
In furtherance to this, the Area Controller said that their efforts in combating illicit trade has yielded impressive results, with total Duty Paid Value (DPV) of seized items amounting to Three Billion, Three hundred and Twenty-two million, Two hundred and thirty-nine thousand, Three hundred and Fifty-five Naira (N3,322,239,355.00K) only between July to October 2024.
However, the Area Controller explained that the seized items breached some of the provisions of the extant laws as enshrined in the Nigeria Customs Service Act (NCS Act) 2023. These items include: Pieces of Walkie Talkies,175 Pieces of Military Helmets, 50 Pieces of Drones, 10 Packs of Canadian Cannabis Sativa, 250 pieces of Live Turtles, 7 Packages of 200mg & 225mg of Tramadol, Hydrochloride, 1.5kg of Pangolin Scales and 0.2kg of Porcupine Pins
Thus, he attributed his achievement to the enhanced trade facilitation, improved stakeholder compliance, effective law enforcement, strategic resource deployment, interagency collaboration, efficient cargo clearance and intelligent risk management strategies.
He stated that in order to boost revenue collection, facilitate legitimate trade and curb smuggling, the Command implemented initiatives such as streamlined clearance procedures, enhanced cargo inspection and examination, improved intelligence gathering and sharing, collaboration with other security agencies, and regular stakeholder engagements.
In moving the command forward, Controller Awe assured continued enhanced trade facilitation measures, strengthened anti-smuggling efforts, improve stakeholder engagement and leverage on technology for efficient operations.
Comptroller MT Awe expressed his profound appreciation to the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi MFR and his management team for their unwavering support in carrying out official tasks effectively. Similarly, he hailed officers and men of his command for their hard work and dedication towards achieving the great feat.
Adequate recognition was also given to stakeholders, including importers, exporters and clearing agents for their cooperation and compliance to extant laws. He also applauded the media for their continuous support and partnership in disseminating information to the public.
