Apapa Customs generates N212.5bn, processes N70bn export in Q1 2023

The Apapa Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service on Tuesday announced that it collected N212.5billion revenue in the first quarter of 2023.

Controller of the command, Comptroller Auwal Muhammed who disclosed this while briefing journalists on the command’s scorecard in the last three months said the amount was realised despite a drop in importation occasioned by the just concluded general elections.

He, however, expressed optimism that with the elections over, the command will meet and surpass its annual target of N1.5 trillion.

He said, “Volume of importation is low compared to last year because of the elections but very soon as the elections are over, normal activities will resume. But within limit, with what we have at hand, we have collected and generated maximum revenue on behalf of the government.

“Our scanning machine is also working effectively, scanning up to 130 containers on a daily basis. So we are doing our best and we’ll make sure that as soon as activities resume, the volume of cargo will jump up and revenue generation will be maximized.”

Comptroller Muhammed said the command within the review period also processed export goods worth N70billion with a total tonnage of 110,448 metric tonnes.

He said the exports included agricultural produce such as sesame seeds, ginger, hibiscus, mineral resources, steel ingot and others with Free on Board (FOB) value of $159,845,232.84.

On anti-smuggling, he said the command made seizures of 14 containers comprising of prohibited items such as vegetable oil, footwears, used dothing, unprocessed wood, and tramadol tablets with a Duty Paid Value of N22billion.

He added that the command on Friday, 31 March 2023 uncovered a large quantty of 225mg of tramadol tablets concealed in 2x40ft container numbers TRHU 4758549 and TRHU 6936803 where 143,800,000 tablets of Tramadol 225mg were discovered in 720 cartons weighing 10.3 tonnes (10,386kg).

The consignment which originated from India, the Customs boss said is valued at N21.6billion.

Comptroller Muhammed noted that while the command will continue to facilitate legitimate trade, attempts to smuggled prohibited goods through the Apapa port will continued to be foiled.

“Our functions of revenue generation and collection, suppression of smuggling and facilitating legitimate trade have been consistently implemented within the first three months of 2023.

“While I am meeting with various stakeholders and partner government agencies to ensure the tempo of compliance is sustained and improved upon, the command stood forthright in foiling attempts at smuggling prohibited items into and out of the country.

“We are on the look-out for those behind such unlawful importation for arrest and very soon we will track them down to face the full wrath of the law. As a service, we owe Nigenans the duty to prevent this kind of importation from entering the market to safeguard the health of the citizenry,” he said.

Comptroller Muhammed said effective collaboration with stakeholders and sharing of credible intelligence with sister government agencies in the port have yielded positive results in the command’s effort to enforce government fiscal policies on import and export.

“Our resolve to enforce government fiscal policies and extant laws to ensure that all import and export consignments transiting through Apapa port are duly examined has been strengthened through effective collaboration and timely sharing of credible intelligence with sister government agencies in the port.

“Since my assumption of duty here, I have been meeting with various stakeholder groups comprising importers, exporters, licensed agents, freight forwarders, and others. I am happy to note that these meetings are yielding good results and will be sustained in days ahead.

“In this command, we have a deliberate culture of inter-agency collaboration with other government organizations. Within this first three months, I have enjoyed robust sharing of credible intelligence and support from other agencies of government,” he said.