The Apapa Command of Nigeria Customs Service has said it collected a historic all-time high (ATH) revenue of N16 billion in a day on Friday February 23, 2024, beating existing record of N11.3 billion ATH collected on November 23, 2023.
Customs Area Controller (CAC) of the Command, Comptroller Babajide Jaiyeoba described the feat as one of the expected fallouts of the many strategies he has put in place to facilitate trade and boost revenue collection at the Nigeria’s premier seaport.
He urged officers and men of the command to keep up the tempo of zero tolerance for infractions and non compromise for any violation of the Nigeria Customs Service Act (NCSA) 2023.
He said, “The laudable revenue collection in the face of declined volume of trade was achieved as a result of weekly strategic meetings with sectional heads of my command to review and evaluate success and challenges with a view to continually improving on our deliverables.
“There have also been more regular stakeholder engagments between the command, sister government agencies, importers, exporters, terminal operators, and all others involved in the cargo clearance and supply chain.
“We have therefore, seen a remarkable improvement in the number of containers being scanned to save time and operate in line with the expectations of modern customs administration.”
Jaiyeoba
While commending the officers of the command for their dedication to duty exemplified through punctuality and integrity, Jaiyeoba urged importers, licensed customs agents and freight forwarders to embrace scanning the more as the Nigeria Customs Service under the admjnistration of CGC Adewale Adeniyi, is committed to maximum deployment of ICT for trade facilitation.
He described sincere declaration as a mark of integrity that saves time and money, resulting in a win-win situation for everyone. According to him, not making sincere declaration is poor business decision capable of causing delays, leading to issuance of demand notices and denying the declarants of the benefits of enjoying fast track and possible migration to Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) status.
The Apapa Command collected N1.17 trillion revenue representing 32% of the Service’s 2023 revenue generation target of N3.67 trillion to maintain her cash cow status. This year, expectations are high on the command which processes about 65% of Nigeria’s imports to meet the Customs revenue target of N5 trillion.
