By Zika Bobby
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Onne Area ll Command, has generated N242 billion in 2022.
The Customs Area Controller, Auwal Mohammed, said this in a statement on Sunday in Lagos.
Mohammed said noted that the command’s revenue collection had been on the increase since his assumption of duty in 2020. He said that the command generated N119 billion in 2020 and N188.7 billion in 2021, respectively.
“I attribute the collection of N242 billion as total revenue for 2022 to regular stakeholders engagement, increased compliance level of the port users and non compromise on the part of his officers.
“The command engaged its stakeholders regularly on the need to abide by extant laws guiding import and export.
“Periodic meetings with importers, exporters, terminal operators, licensed customs agents and freight forwarders afforded the command the opportunity of regularly enlightening them on the import and export prohibitions,” he said.
He said that unprocessed wood and charcoal which fall under export prohibition had been regularly brought to the knowledge of all concerned with emphasis that ignorance of the law would not serve as excuse for violation.
Mohammed who lauded the stakeholders for their commendable compliance level urged them to sustain and improve on it.
On the anti- smuggling initiatives, he said that the command made some seizures in 2022. He said that the feat was achieved through meticulous hundred per cent physical examination of cargoes.
“Antics by smugglers to conceal prohibited items by hiding them at the end of containers with the hope that customs officers won’t get to the end during examination failed as all such concealments were uncovered and seized.
“The seizures made comprise of machetes brought into the country without an end-user certificate, military wears, vegetable oil, whisky, soap, and used clothings.
Other seizures included used tyres, foreign parboiled rice, tomato paste, used vehicle parts, and other items either classified as prohibited or for which duty payments were being evaded,” he said.
Mohammed said the command recorded a remarkable increase in export worth N2.71 billion collected under the Nigeria Export Supervision Scheme (NESS).
He said that the 2022 figure was over 300 per cent higher when compared with N881.01 million recorded in 2021.
“The NESS fee is a statutory payment to the Federal Government on all legitimate goods exported from Nigeria,” he said.
Mohammed said the export items were majorly agricultural produce such as sesame seeds, ginger, hibiscus flower (zobo) an palm produce.
“The command’s export profile is being supported by the Domestic Export Warehouse terminal initiative put in place by the Federal Government to ease the processing of export cargoes on transit to shipment stage.
“For trade facilitation and ease of cargo examination, the command received a mobile scanner that is being fully installed and will be connected to the Nigeria Integrated Customs Information System (NICIS II) for synchronising,” he said.
Mohammed said the examination capacity of the command would increase from 200 and 300 to 300 and 350 containers daily when the scanner begins operation.
