The Apapa Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service reported a total revenue of N119 billion for the month of June.
According to a statement made by the Public Relations Officer, Abubakar Usman, on Wednesday, the command reported that this figure is the largest monthly collection it has achieved thus far.
In accordance with the aforementioned declaration, Mohammed Auwal, the departing Customs Area Comptroller of the command, conveyed during his valedictory meeting with top officers of the command that a total income of N540 billion was earned between the months of January and July.
On Monday, Auwal, a senior customs official, was bestowed with the status of an Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs by Adewale Adeniyi, the acting Comptroller General of Customs.
He stated that compliance is the cornerstone of port efficiency during the farewell meeting.
He stated that thanks to leakage prevention, zero tolerance for duty evasion, and due vigilance in the face of a decreased amount of trade, the command’s revenue collection improved.
The ACG expressed gratitude to the officers and stakeholders for their assistance and praised the usefulness of different interventions, such as demand notices to recover identified income deficiencies.
“Before now, N95b collected between January and August 2022 was the highest monthly collection. The job of preventing prohibited items such as arms, ammunition, illicit drugs, and others under the import and export prohibition lists from entering or exiting the country through Apapa port was treated as a collective duty under his watch,” the statement read.
According to Auwal, the first crucial step in stopping criminals who try to exploit ports for their illegal activities is inter-agency cooperation and intelligence sharing.
“Compliance is one word that appeals to both government and private sector stakeholders because we are all governed by rules to which we owe a duty to obey.
“Apapa port holds the potential to handle the highest volume of trade in West and Central Africa with the possibility of being a trade hub for seamless cargo movement if importers, agents, and freight forwarders comply by making sincere declarations and avoiding smuggling,” he concluded.
