The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) said it has generated the sum of N1, 562,115,419,216.32 as revenue in the year 2020 despite the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to the service, the revenue was above the annual target of N1, 380,765,353,462.00 and higher than the sum of N1, 342,006,918,504.55 generated in 2019.
Commenting on this feat, Hameed Ibrahim Ali (Rtd), comptroller-general of Customs, attributed it to the resolute pursuit of what is right and willingness to adapt to changes brought about by global health challenges occasioned by outbreak of Covid-19.
“The service revenue generation profile has continued to be on the rise annually as the ongoing reforms in the Service insist on strategic deployment of officers strictly using the standard operating procedure; strict enforcement of extant guidelines by the tariff and trade department; and automation of the Customs process thereby eliminating vices associated with the manual process,” said the CGC in a statement signed by Joseph Attah, public relations officer of Customs.
The Customs boss further attributed the feat to robust stakeholder sensitisation resulting in more informed/voluntary compliance and increased disposition of officers and men to put national interest above selves.
“The partial border closure which has forced cargoes that could have been smuggled through the porous borders to come through the sea and airports raised revenue collection from ports,” Ali stated.
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According to him, before the commencement of the border drill on 20th August 2019, revenue generation was between N4 billion and N5 billion but now NCS generate between N5 billion and N9 billion daily.
Ali said that the diplomatic engagements that took place during the partial land border closure yielded many positive results, including commitment to comply with the ECOWAS Protocol on Transit and operationalisation of joint border patrols at both sides of the border.
“Already, the Ministry of Finance has purchased three new Scanners and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has also expressed commitment to purchasing four scanners and establishes the control center for monitoring all scanning sites in their bid to boost national economy, especially agricultural sector,” he disclosed.
Ali further stated that within the next six months, NCS will have about seven functional scanners to be mounted at strategic entry points even before the full deployment of e-Customs components which will see to the deployment of 135 modern scanners.
In the same vein, he disclosed that the Service efforts to prevent the entry of items that could compromise the security of our citizens, economy and the well being of our people resulted in the seizures of 4,304 assorted items with a duty paid value of N28, 287,285,847.52.
