The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Apapa command has surpassed its 2023 revenue performance of N1.17 trillion just in the first 7 months of 2024.
The Customs Area Controller (CAC) of Apapa Command, Comptroller Babatunde Olomu, announced in a statement released by the Public Relations Officer, Mr. Usman Abubakar, in Lagos on Wednesday that the command has set new records in revenue collection.
Olomu expressed his dedication to exceeding previous revenue collection benchmarks.
He revealed that the command collected N201.8 billion in July 2024, marking the highest monthly collection in the history of the Nigeria Customs Service.
The CAC noted that the total revenue collected in the first seven months of 2024 reached N1.22 trillion, surpassing the entire revenue collected in the twelve months of 2023.
He credited this achievement to his implementation of the Time Release Study (TRS) initiative, as directed by the Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adeniyi, to facilitate trade.
He mentioned that the interventions from the Tariff and Trade Department significantly contributed to the command’s success.
He said, “I am optimistic about the possibility of beating this record as we look forward to surpassing it in months to come. 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,”
“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.”
“We are committed to doing more in line with the directives and motivating examples of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, MFR,”
He stated that Apapa Command manages the highest volume of trade for the Nigeria Customs Service, collects the most revenue, and thus faces elevated expectations from both the service’s management and the government.
He urged users of Apapa port to engage in legitimate trade, emphasizing that the command is now more vigilant in detecting all forms of concealment and minimizing any opportunities for revenue leakage.
In 2024, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has recorded significant increase in revenue collection so far. The Service in the first half of the year increased revenues by 127% despite a decline in cargo throughput during the period.
The service also beat its revenue target for the first quarter of the year by 8% signalling excellent performance in revenue collection.
