Oyo/Osun Customs command generates N3.6bn

The Oyo/Osun Nigeria Customs Service Area Command has raked in a sum of N3.6 billion as revenue in the first quarter of this year.

Richard Oteri, the area comptroller, who disclosed this in Ibadan, said “the revenue target actually given to us is N25 billion every year, giving us an average of about N2.1 billion per month, and that is one area we have not been able to meet because our monthly collection has always been over N1 billion or there about, which is between 51 and 55 percent.”

According to him, there are basically only three excise factories in the area which are the British American Tobacco Company, an arm of the Nigerian Breweries, and the International Breweries in Ilesa.

“The Ilesa breweries has been off for some while, you know they transfer ownership so it is the least of them all. But, you see, we have been having quite a lot of challenges. In fact, a substantial part of the country is cut off, because of security situation of the country.

“Also the British America Tobacco Nigeria often relies on export, and that is part of the reason why we have not been able to meet our target,” he said.

While saying that the command is doing its best to improve on revenue generation, Oteri said “you know Oyo/Osun command is a quiet town, it is not really industrialised, that is why we have not been able to meet the target given to us, but we have been trying our best to see how we can improve on our collection.”

He however said the command was winning the war in the area of anti-smuggling with seizures of 30,000 live cartridges of ammunition in March this year, saying that vehicles, frozen foods, turkey, rice and vegetables worth N198.6 million of duty payable value were seized in the first quarter.

REMI FEYISIPO