Apapa customs makes highest daily collection of n18.2b

The Apapa Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has made the highest daily collection of N18.2 billion at the Apapa seaports. The Controller of Apapa Command of NCS, Babatunde Olomu, who disclosed this during a briefing in Lagos, said despite a remarkable decline in trade volume, the command has been able to block leakages to achieve maximum collection of revenue.

He said: “October witnessed the highest daily collection of N18.2 billion. So, we are hopeful that within the next two weeks, the command will hit the N2 trillion revenue target for the year.”

Olomu said the command generated N1.8 trillion between January-October 2024. This, according to him, represents a 101 per cent increase over last year’s revenue of N931.1 billion.

In October 2024 alone, he said the command raked-in N264.4 billion, also the highest monthly collection in the history of this command. To aid trade facilitation, he said the Nigeria Customs is driving a modern and paperless system and the Apapa Command will migrate from the old system to a new system, adding that it has keyed into trade facilitation tools like AEO and Advanced Ruling to ensure seamless movement of both import and export cargoes.

“Furthermore, in line with the Federal Government agenda of Ease of Doing Business, the command operates on Saturdays and Sundays to ensure that importers take delivery of their cargoes devoid of any delay.

“It is noteworthy to state that just last week, the command facilitated the first shipment of cargo to Kenya under the AfCFTA regime,” he stated. On anti-smuggling activities, Olomu said the command recently seized six containers carrying falsely declared and unwholesome pharmaceutical which were handed over to the National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control, (NAFDAC) and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

He further said that from January 2024 to date the command has made well over 36 seizures of various items ranging from used clothing, frozen poultry product, Tramadol, unregistered pharmaceutical products, and other controlled substances. “These seizures are valued at over N1.5 billion.”