Customs to relocate Lagos Zonal headquarters

...As Zone generates N939bn revenue in first half of 2023

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has announced plans to relocate its Zone ‘A’ headquarters in Lagos to a more befitting environment as part of efforts to strengthen the Zone’s structure to handle new responsibilities.

The Acting Comptroller General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed this during his maiden visit to the Zone ‘A’ headquarters in Lagos on Tuesday.

Zone ‘A’ of the NCS houses the administrative functions in the Southwest Zone and accounts for the generation of about 80% of the total revenue generated by the Service.

Adeniyi while nothing that said there is need to bring back the powers of the Zone, assured that the relocation will not affect service delivery.

He said, “The Zonal office is known for how it is strategically located, its organisational structure and its hierarchy.

“After staying in this location for about 48 years, perhaps it is time to relocate this structure to a more befitting one and build a modern Zonal office. We want to bring back the power of the Zone. We need a zone that is effective, well-designed, well located and can handle the new responsibilities that will be put on them. We assure all stakeholders that the movement and relocation will not affect service delivery.”

Adeniyi added that proactive measures have been taken to strengthen the structure of the Zone as a team will be set up to look at its current mandate and responsibilities previously handled by the Zone but have been shifted to the commands or the Service headquarters will be reinstalled.

On the new Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023 which has the enabling legal backing for Customs activities, the Acting CG, said a sensitization workshop will be organised for all cadre as the management team has duly undergone a retreat recently.

“All Officers and Men must have a good understanding of the new Act, a closer look into the provision of the laws, shows that it gives us the power to deal with issues related to international trade, and customs clearance, but because the spirit of the laws is user and business-friendly, we will need a good knowledge to conduct ourselves as officers”

Earlier in his welcome address, the Zonal Coordinator, Assistant Comptroller-General, Okun Festus informed the CGC of progress made by the Zone in the area of revenue generation.

He said in the year 2022, the Zone generated total revenue of about N2. 1trillion which represents 80% of total revenue of N2.6 trillion generated for the period.

Okun disclosed that in the first six months of 2023, the Zone has generated a total revenue of N939 billion.

This, he said, represents about 78% of the total revenue of N1.2trillion.

“With this, we are sure of attaining the threshold of not less than eighty per cent (80%) of the nationally generated revenue at the end of the year, ” he said.

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