Apapa command generated N672.1bn in four months, says customs

The Apapa Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says it generated N672.1 billion from January to April 2024.

Babajide Jaiyeoba, the outgoing area controller, disclosed this during his handover and retirement ceremony in Lagos on Monday.

According to NAN, Jaiyeoba said the command generated a record-breaking revenue of N182 billion in April alone — the highest monthly collection in the history of the service.

He attributed his success to the Almighty God, Bashir Adeniyi, the comptroller-general of customs, and the entire staff of the Apapa command as well as the cooperation of the stakeholders.

“I will describe the eight-month tenure as Area Controller of Apapa Command as joyful and characterised by exciting moments culminating into tangible results for the benefit of the nation,” he said.

“We have set the ball rolling for the actualisation of our target, and the officers I am leaving behind are focused on this.

“My optimism is not misplaced because we have all proven to be tested and trusted.”

The outgoing area controller thanked the officers for relentlessly pursuing maximum collection of duty by preventing leakages, fighting against smuggling, and ensuring that traders enjoyed hitch-free clearance under his leadership.

He, therefore, solicited the support of all officers, sister government agencies, and stakeholders for Babatunde Olomu, the incoming area controller.

“Let’s triple, or possibly, quadruple, the cooperation and support I got for him. His success is our common benefit,” Jaiyeoba said.

“For over three decades, I have known him to be a team player and result-oriented officer.”

Jaiyeoba commended the speedy operations of the scanner centre which, he said, had contributed meaningfully to revenue collection in the nation’s busiest port.

On his part, Olomu assured of his commitment to the service and modernising the customs operation, starting with Apapa Port as a focal point in implementing trade facilitation reforms.

“We are reviving Nigeria’s readiness for improved trade with fellow African countries and the world at large,” he said.

“The management of the service is committed to evolving a more modern customs, with Apapa Port being a nucleus for the implementation of many trade facilitation reforms championed by the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adeniyi, MFR.”

Olomu urged NCS officers to brace up for the changes that will feature “as fallouts of customs modernisation, otherwise called e-customs, AEO, and many other groundbreaking World Customs Organisation (WCO) innovations like the recently-introduced advanced ruling policy”.