New Apapa Customs boss, Oshoba pledges to improve on Olomu’s achievements, break new records

Comptroller Emmanuel Oshoba, has taken over the reins of leadership at the Apapa Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service, with a pledge to sustain and improve on the legacies and achievements of his predecessor, Assistant Comptroller General (ACG) Babatunde Olomu.

Speaking at the handing over ceremony at the command in Lagos in Monday, Oshoba commended the significant strides achieved by ACG Olomu in revenue generation and anti-smuggling,
pledging to break new records and lead with transparency and integrity.

He expressed  his appreciation to the Comptroller General of Customs and his management team for the opportunity to serve at the command, just as he solicited the support and collaboration of stakeholders, to enable him succeed and justify the confidence repose on him by the Comptroller General.

“As a person, I live with a desire to improve on any environment I find myself. My work period here won’t be an exception.

“I have demands to make from everyone in this room and all stakeholders who couldn’t make it here physically due to exigencies of our work and space constraints. I want to request that we renew our dedication and our shared vision for excellence. I solicit for maximum support from every one of you.

“As I step into this role, my first priority is to apply the three Ls- Look, Listen and Learn, I want to understand the heartbeat of this command. know the challenges and work together with everyone to surmount them. Please join me in this journey. As you did with my predecessor. do with me.

“Your ideas, your passion, and your expertise are the foundation on which my service here shall be built. I am committed to fostering an environment where every voice is heard and valued.

“As you are all aware, we are currently positioned at a critical juncture in the ongoing ICT and modernization efforts within the Service. The world is changing rapidly, and with change comes opportunities. Together, we will build on the gains of B’Odogwu and cause our workplace to evolve into an ecosystem of rapid innovation and excellence. I ask for your continued support to push the Unified Customs Management System to greater heights.

“The Authorized Economic Operator (AEO), Time Release Study (TRS), Advanced Ruling (AR) and other trade facilitation programs which puts NCS ahead of its peer’s customs administration in Africa shall be the thrust of my leadership here, ” he said.

Oshoba also urged the stakeholders, particularly clearing agents to uphold the principles of compliance, and ensure unwavering adherence to all legal frameworks governing import, export and excise operations.

“I believe in the power of collaboration. No one succeeds alone, and I am here to work alongside you-not just as a leader, but as a partner in our shared mission. We will face challenges, but we will tackle them together, with resilience and determination, We will also celebrate our successes together, because every milestone we achieve will be a testament to our collective hard work and commitment, “he said.

Earlier, in his valedictory speech, ACG Olomu thanked the Comptroller-General of Customs,Adewale Adeniyi for entrusting him with the leadership of the Service’s flagship command, just as he expressed appreciation to officers, stakeholders, and sister agencies for their support.

While highlighting the successes attained by the command under his leadership, Olomu announced that a total of N2. 3trillion was collected as revenue in year 2024.

He added that N1.834trillion had so far been collected in 2025, representing over 60 percent of the N3trillion revenue target for the year.

He said, “We were able to achieve 2.3trillion for 2024. This was unprecedented in the history of the service, and in recognition of this, the command got the award of the best command in revenue generation at the CGC’s conference. Also, the command got the award of the best command in trade facilitation and to cap it off, as the overall best controller of the year.

“It is noteworthy to state that we did not just arrive there. We stayed focused and made improvement in our revenue generation hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly, to arrive at the outstanding accomplishments. We achieved a record-breaking single-day revenue production of N17.9 billion on June 19, 2024.

“Again, the command set another benchmark of N18.2 billion in daily revenue in October 2024. And furthermore, the daily revenue generation record of N18.9 billion was made in March 14, 2025. Consequently, for the month of August 2025, the command collected N214.9billion using the newly introduced B’Odogwu Unified Customs Management System, despite the technical issues and teetering problems we initially had.

“As of today, the total collection that was recorded is 1,834 trillion. I am optimistic that my succesor will build on these achievements to surpass our 2025 revenue target of N3 trillion, since we have attained 60% of the annual collection.

On enforcement and anti smuggling, Olomu said the command recorded 75 seizures of various goods including fake and expired pharmauceutical products.

He attributed the revenue feat and other successes achieved by the command to the unwavering support of stakeholders and dedicated officers, urging the officers and stakeholders to give same support to the new CAC.

In their separate goodwill messages, Founder, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders, Dr. Boniface Aniebonam;  Member, Board of Trustees (BoT) ANLCA, Ademola Mumuney and Chairman, Customs Consultative Council ( CCC) Hakeem Olanrewaju commended Olomu for the giant strides recorded and pledged to support the new CAC.