Customs: Apapa port generated N1.2trn in 7 months — more than entire 2023 revenue

The Apapa command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in Lagos says it generated a total of N1.2 trillion as revenue between January and July.

Babatunde Olomu, comptroller of Apapa command, spoke in a statement on Wednesday.

Olomu said he was committed to surpassing the existing records of revenue collection.

He said the command collected N201.8 billion in July, its highest monthly collection in customs history.

According to the comptroller, the collected revenue for the seven months is higher than the total revenue of N1.7 trillion collected for the twelve months of 2023.

He attributed the success to his implementation of the time release study (TRS ) pushed by Adewale  Adeniyi, comptroller general of customs, to facilitate trade.

Olomu said the move had yielded outstanding results, which was reflected in the command’s revenue collection.

“I am optimistic about the possibility of beating this record as we look forward to surpassing it in months to come,” he said.

“From January to July 2024, Apapa Area Command generated a total of N1.22 billion above the total revenue collected by the command in 12 months of 2023, which was  N1.17 trillion.

“In clear terms, our 2024 seven months collection is above last year’s twelve months total collection.”

Olomu also said the interventions from the tariff and trade department also contributed immensely to the successes achieved by the command.

“Our compliance desk, dispute resolution team, Valuation, PCA, CIU and other units aimed at promoting seamless trade have been reinvigorated with daily, weekly and monthly evaluation to oversee the progress we are making,” he said. 

“We are committed to doing more in line with the directives and motivating examples of the comptroller-general of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, MFR.”

The comptroller said Apapa command handled the highest volume of trade for the NCS, collected the highest revenue, and was therefore saddled with a higher degree of expectation from the management of the service and the government.

He also urged port users in Apapa to embrace legitimate trade.

Olomu said the command was more alive to its responsibilities to detect all forms of concealment and plug any avenue for revenue leakage to the barest minimum.